The prey
by xElla8D
Summary: "Sasuke-kun, if you don't claim me, someone else will." She murmured, "You don't understand. Sakura, if I claimed you, you'd die." This is the story of 3 inseparable childhood friends that find out that their families … aren't ordinary at all – and that it might cost them their lives./dropped
1. Chapter One

**Summary:** "Sasuke-kun, if you don't claim me, someone else will." She murmured, "You don't understand. Sakura, if I claimed you, you'd die." This is the story of 3 inseparable childhood friends that find out that their families … aren't ordinary at all – and that it might cost them their lives.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto isn't called SasuSaku, so I don't think I own it. Some Masashi Kishimoto owns it I suppose.

 **Warning:** I did not re-read it. So, please excuse my grammar mistakes and mistypes.

* * *

 **Chapter One:** _ **The night before the storm -**_

" _ **How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life"**_ **– Marcus Aurelius,** _**Meditations**_

* * *

The alarm buzzed and threatened to deafen with its loud attempts at waking him up, but he only turned on his side, unconsciously cursing the device.

Seeing that so many years had passed, didn't they know better, didn't he himself know better? Uzumaki Naruto could not be woken up before 7.30 in the morning by any means.

Next door, however, the alarm had long since been dismissed as a slim figure pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and out the door she was. Outside, finishing his habitual stretches, a raven haired boy glanced to her side and his expression did not change much, expect for the obvious familiarity with her presence.

"He's not coming today either I suppose," and she stopped beside him, inhaling the fresh air of the not yet spoilt morning.

"But what can we do, Sasuke-kun?"

"Naruto, up at 6 AM? Very funny, Sakura."

And off they went, the unforgiving timer counting every second as they ran.

* * *

 _Knock, knock._

The gentle yet somehow impatient sound of the knock on the door was answered with a loud snore and a creaking sound of wood.

"Once more." The woman tried convincing herself to remain calm, placing her last bit of temper on another attempt.

 _Knock, knock._

No response.

And then, she blew up.

"Uzumaki Naruto, am I going to slam you against the wall?!" the redhead stormed into the room, her loud yelling earning a response from her fast asleep son – he lifted his head, vision blurry.

However, it wasn't for long. Droplets of sweat soon dripped down his forehead in pure fear of the ravaging beast of his mother, Uzumaki Kushina.

" _How late do you think it is?_ " Naruto would have liked to believe this was a dream but for the sound of her cracking her knuckles being too realistic.

The blond eyed the clock on his bed table, only to gulp – 7.49 AM.

 _Shit_.

* * *

"The time? How was… the time?" Sakura panted and followed with an overhead stretch, only to wipe her sweat after.

The Uchiha reached for the towel he'd left in his yard before going off to jog with the pinkette.

"Don't ignore me!" she giggled, pulling away his towel.

"You're energetic today, aren't you?" an ever so faint yet usual smirk was found on his face as he used his bottle to throw droplets of cold water at her.

"Meanie," she returned the towel with a gentle smile, "I guess I'll go get ready for school then."

Making her way across the street to her house, the pinkette made used of the short walk to keep stretching herself.

"It's a new record," she heard him say, "8 miles in 43 minutes."

Sakura didn't have to turn around to see his expression at that particular moment, she already felt his soft smile.

* * *

"Do you think we'll get to buy some **melonpan** 's?"

Sakura tried inserting herself between students here and there to get to the counter of the cafeteria, pulling on her friend's hand so as not to lose her. Whether or not the Yamanaka or the Haruno were successful, that was to be seen.

"It's gotten so crowded lately, why is everyone on the hunt for this stupid bread?"

"Same reason we are, pig. It's delicious."

The stock was steadily emptying as the customers were being served; however, the pinkette was not only bad at pushing people around, but also prone to being smashed all over the crowd. Her comrade, on the other hand, might have had much higher chances than the Haruno _if_ she actually tried, but since ' _there were too many calories_ ' in a poor melonpan, Ino was there only for mere support.

"Geez." Sakura sighed, turning on her heels.

The floor echoed with her footsteps, she was obviously enraged.

"For once in my life I forget my **bento** at home and I can't even get a bread."

Touching up on her ponytail, Ino sighed.

"You could get Sasuke's, now couldn't you? Since he never eats it."

"What?"

"The bento."

Sakura thought for a moment and as she gazed outside the windows, at what no one knew, and a faint touch of rose tainted her fair-complected skin.

"But he _does_ eat it. And it seems you didn't quite think that through, because I'm the one who makes them for Naruto and him."

"Heh," the Yamanaka teased, "You enjoy showing off your closeness, Sakura?"

"Geez, it's not like that."

The few rays of light that penetrated the cloudy sky of December rested on Ino's hair, golden strands being pulled behind the hair as she once more felt like putting things into perspective.

"And that's why they call you the _virgins_."

A huff.

"But you know," the roseate began, hands placed on her hips, "My hands are tied."

An exasperated sigh.

"And for how long are your hands going to be tied, Sakura? Until after we graduate? Until college? For the rest of your lives?"

"I'm going to say this once more, I don't know what I can do."

Facing her friend, the Yamanaka sat herself on the stairs, eyes glued to the other's forest green orbs.

"I'm only tugging at you because I want you to be happy, forehead, and to have a fulfilling love life."

Sakura attempted looking away, but concluded that it wasn't fair to the other.

"So, you 3, the _virgins_ , are called that for a reason, you know. Because you and Sasuke are basically an item, yet Naruto has always been head over heels in love with you and still, neither of you is making any move at all."

"I'm in love with Sasuke-kun." The Haruno stated, steady on her feet.

"That everybody knows, even Sasuke himself. But the thing is, why is nothing happening?"

Sakura began ascending, not looking back to check whether or not her friend was following, because she knew that when Ino was at it, she did _not_ leave until she was finished.

"That's because my love is inconvenient for Sasuke-kun. That's not what he needs."

"Well, that might have been years ago when there were no … you know, tongues and hormones."

"And Naruto … It's not like it's a secret that he's like a brother to me, nor that I care about him just as much. However, I wouldn't give up the chance to be with Sasuke-kun not to hurt his feelings, because that's just not fair to any of us."

* * *

"Man, I need some ramen – " the loud blond complained for the nth time as his companion shove his hands into his pockets, eyes scanning for edible food to buy.

Naruto yawned and rubbed his belly in a self-pitying way, irritation eventually surfacing.

"I can't sleep, I don't get Sakura-chan's ramen, the hell is wrong with the world today-ttebayo?!"

"Won't you shut up," Uchiha Sasuke sneered, "this whole queue is pissing me off as is."

"Bastard."

A couple minutes later, the boys successfully returned to the hallway, the blond packed with all sorts of breads to prevent his starvation, whilst the raven haired settled for a couple **karepan** 's and, most intriguingly, two other melonpan's.

"Thought you didn't like sweets, teme."

"Someone else does."

In spite of the slight sting in his chest, the Uzumaki munched on the first thing he found in his packed arms, act followed by a teasing _'heh'_.

"Look who's been looking out for Sakura-chan."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I thought since she's always made you food, for once she shouldn't starve."

As they strolled down the hallway in half silence, half chit-chat, Naruto dismissed any negative thoughts and delved into whatever he could spot outside the large, lustrous windows and he did not regret it whatsoever, he even felt genuine happiness that _the_ Uchiha Sasuke was finally offering his crush and second best friend green light.

On the other hand, Sasuke wasn't entirely immersed in thoughts of her, he was rather concerned with that odd feeling his gut gave – unlike a premonition, but very much similar to a determined, acknowledged prediction. He felt things were awfully quiet around and it did not sit well with him, even though it was more than enjoyable.

However, task at hand – find Sakura and hand her this damn bread because he found it disgusting; trust this particular Uchiha to eat bougar rather than sweets.

A few steps away and right round the corner on the stairs, he spotted a bundle of pink shaking furiously. As he closed in, unintentionally but unavoidably focused on it, the raven haired made out her silhouette, her flushed face as she fervently disagreed with the now spottable Yamanaka Ino. With what Haruno Sakura disagreed, he wouldn't know.

"Sakura-chan!"

And the idiot beat him to it, earning a surprised, more like completely startled pinkette to turn around, eyes sparkling even in that saturation-less light of mid-December. Despite her initial taken aback state, her features naturally softened, a gentle, usual smile replacing her former pout.

"Ah, Naruto, Sasuke-kun," she bent her head above the staircase and gazed down at them, "sorry for today. I mean, I'm sorry I forgot the bento's."

"No biggie." Naruto grinned, showing his stock.

"These'll do, and here." Sasuke said raising his hand and thus offered her the sweet bread.

A slight flush could still clearly be seen on her face as she gladly reached for her food and grinned back.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun! I really couldn't deal with that crowd but," Sakura stretched out her hand, lending the Yamanaka a piece too, "How'd you know?"

The same usual smirk.

"I know."

"Cocky bastard." Naruto replied and, kicking him with his foot jokingly, told Sakura they'd see her after classes and left, dragging the Uchiha along.

* * *

"No practice today?"

Sasuke was sitting laid back on a random chair in their homeroom as he watched her tiny figure wipe the blackboard.

"None. I was praying for a break, you know." She chuckled.

Returning to her desk and finishing up as a student on day duty, Sakura pouted.

"It's the only day I get off from club practice and Naruto decides he's going to be late."

"It's just his usual idiocy."

"Not worse than betting on that slender guy," the Haruno added, hands closing the attendance notebook, reminiscing the most recent sumo match that all 3 watched together, "Like, Sasuke-kun, who would even bet on him, what were you thinking?"

She chuckled amusedly before having her forehead flicked.

"If 300 pounds is slender to you…" Sasuke countered.

"It's sumo we're talking about. And, didn't Tsunade-san always say I was good at gambling?"

The Uchiha sneered in a defeated matter, before chuckling ironically as he was reminded of the _queen_ of failed bets, the one and only wife of Naruto's godfather, Jiraiya.

"Very wise of you to believe what that woman says, especially after a round of saké."

And a pout. But before Sakura was able to fight back, Sasuke's phone buzzed on the desk.

"I hope it's Naruto." He hissed.

And, as hoped, it was the Uzumaki that had texted him. However, it did not please them in the least as he stated that since he failed Hatake Kakashi's class, in order to obtain some mercy from the said teacher he was forced to tend to his needs – scholastic needs – afterschool.

What really topped it off and triggered an earnest yell and dramatic gesture to Sakura was how he ended his message though – _But since you're not idiots, I know you didn't wait for me this long. Catch ya guys later_

"For crying out loud! Couldn't he let us know sooner?!" the pinkette boiled and the raven haired could swear he saw smoke rushing out of her ears.

"Let's just go home. The usuratonkachi'll get it later."

Fast and clean motion, Sasuke picked up his bag and headed for the door, Sakura following.

The walk home was enjoyable to both parties in the end, and the Haruno insisted that they stop by the convenience store to grab some items her mother had run out of. The air might have gotten cooler, coating their bodies with stingy numbness, but they were radiating, warmth peeking through the thick clothing. Even if there were gaps, moments of silence in which they simply fell into each other's presence, it seemed perfectly natural.

"I really wish it snowed, like heavily. I'd bury you, Sasuke-kun." She giggled, climbing the few stairs to her house.

"Make it the other way around. That, or a prank on Naruto, but that'd be pretty easy." The Uchiha countered slightly cockily.

"Totally." And Sakura was about to open the door.

Sasuke wasn't at peace – he had this thing he would regret not doing but it was pretty embarrassing for him. Brows furrowed, he debated in his mind whether or not he should proceed or wait until later, but then again, later when?

"Sakura."

"Hm," she turned around, ready to listen, "what is it?"

 _Out with it now_ , he pushed himself.

"On Christmas Day, let's go somewhere."

Taking in his words, her features softened and brightened to a grin he'd briefly thought of as cute before letting his eyes wander around nervously.

"Just the two of us?"

A nod.

A deeper flush in her already numbed by the cold cheeks.

"Like a date?"

He stammered a bit, scratching his head.

"Yeah, like a date."

Sasuke knew that she would agree to, because it was her. Still, he felt exposed and truly embarrassed to be doing that, like who even does that? _Except every teenager._

Looking back at her and her straight, his orbs caught sight of a genuine smile crept on her face and she nodded excitedly.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Sakura wasn't collected whatsoever at that moment, but could you blame her? She barely managed to pull herself to finish the homework she'd been assigned and the roseate was unfortunately unable to slow her beating heart or cool down her heating face.

"Am I too excited?" she spoke to herself, collapsing on the bed and thus earning a bounce back.

 _Pock._

"I'm definitely too excited."

 _Pock._

"I'm even hearing things because of this!"

As she ruffled her hair in exasperation, Sakura's phone buzzed, startling her. As she reached out, she exhaled loudly muttering a _'pull yourself together, idiot'_. She didn't feel surprised seeing Naruto's name pop up on the screen.

 _I swear you're growing deafer by the day, Sakura-chan. The window_

"Window?"

Somehow still unsurprising she found the fact that the most idiotic blond you could ever find was excitedly waving at her from outside and what she gave him was a roll of the eyes and a _'come here'_ sign.

Few moments later he burst her door open, throwing his muffler messily on her bed, then throwing himself on it. She could tell he was exhausted and kind of cold, and wondered what their weird might have put him to.

"What'd you do with Kakashi-sensei though? Spent quality time together?"

"Not you too! I swear you and that bastard are sharing the same mind… Gimme a break already-ttebayo!" he snapped tiredly and rolled on his back, pillow over his head.

Sakura only chuckled at him and attempted pulling him off the bed, but was rewarded with a groan.

"That old man made me sort his _Icha Icha_ book collection for God's sake! It's got nothing to do with school and the fact that I'm failing!"

"Real terror." The Haruno sat herself right next to him and gave him a friendly ruffle of the hair.

"Help me out here, will you, Sakura-chan! Teach me how not to fail that boring class of his!"

Stretching out her arms, the girl cracked her knuckles and sighed feeling for her dear friend.

"Try staying awake throughout them for starters." She offered, mimicking a contemplating pose.

"Very funny-ttebayo."

Naruto sprung up and sighed before sitting, legs crossed as his expression changed from exhaustion to pure confusion. He wasn't dumbfounded for long though, his eyes shot open as though a bulb had suddenly lit up above his head.

"I almost forgot!"

"Hm?" Sakura turned on her side, eying him with confusion.

"Tsunade baa-chan wanted me to give you this!"

While saying that, the Uzumaki searched in his pockets and revealed to her a pretty, intriguing diamond shaped pendant that bore the colour of plums, shining mystically.

"What's this?"

"A necklace, duh." He grinned and allowed it to slip into her hands.

The Haruno shot him an irritated glare before fully inspecting the item.

"Why did Tsunade-san want me to have this?"

"I don't know but she said it would do you good."

Hung between her fingers, the diamond shaped stone swung left and right, drawing the pinkette more and more into it, making her wonder more and more about it.

"It's really pretty."

Once again, Naruto sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face, hand cupping his chin as though he was really thinking of something.

"Maybe baa-chan thought you weren't fashionable enough?"

A vein instantly popped on her forehead.

"You just like pissing me off, don't you, Naruto?" she slowly hissed, earning the expected expression from her companion and a muffled _'s-scary…'_.

* * *

Sasuke never thought weight-lifting could ever get so easy. It was almost miraculous hoe easily he'd been handling this activity for a while, not to mention has rapidly he'd been escalating the quantity. Bench presses, squats, ventral raises and arm circles, it only tired him for moments – this good a physique was to be expected from the top member of the school's judo club.

Counting the last bench press, he slid up tensing his abdominal muscles. One sip of water and the Uchiha concluded that he could do with a short break, especially since he felt it hard to relax. It might've been out of character for him to be thinking that much about his _date_ , but …

Steps causing the floor of the hallway to creak under his weight, Sasuke made his way to the kitchen where he was welcomed by a spicy, warm scent of freshly cooked food and the figure of a slim woman, pitch black tresses hanging loosely, straight down her back as she stirred in a pot.

"Ah, Sasuke," she watched him from the corner of her eye and smiled gently, "Dinner'll be ready soon."

Uchiha Mikoto pulled the spoon out of the pot and softly blew in it, act followed by her taste checking the cream-like dish. Sasuke reached for the sink and filled himself a glass that he without fail drained down his throat. As he caught his breath, his dark orbs scanned his house and sighed.

"Nii-san is rarely home nowadays."

Hesitating as though she had something else on her mind, Mikoto turned away from the oven and closed the distance between herself and her son whom had grown significantly taller than her. He was almost 18, of course he'd be growing. She moved her hand in comforting circles on his back for a couple moments before opening the fridge and grabbing a pack of fresh eggs.

"You know both your father and brother are very busy, but we're all together for dinner, aren't we?"

* * *

Sakura couldn't explain herself why she felt that anxious the following morning. It was as though she shouldn't be going to school but she could not justify that in any way. Reaching for her blazer and patting it to throw off any fallen hairs or ripped threads, the pinkette put it on and scanned herself in the mirror. What the hell did she feel nervous for?

She skipped down the stairs to freshen herself and waved at her mother. Before rushing out the door though, Haruno Mebuki loudly reminded her that she should not forget her hard-worked bento's at home again.

Few minutes later, her pastel green orbs were set on the road ahead and she wasn't particularly thinking of anything, except the fact that the walk was rather boring since both her neighbours and best friends had morning practice that day. For some reason, she also concluded that she had absolutely no concentration to muster, that's how absentminded she felt.

 _Perhaps I didn't rest properly_ , she thought to herself as she strolled down the sidewalk.

* * *

"It's my win, usuratonkachi." Sasuke said, literally looking down on a defeated, fallen on his back, Naruto.

"You cheated, I swear!" the latter sprung up, hands now crossed on his chest.

The Uchiha reached for his towel and wiped his forehead, the morning practice was rather intense that day, but it didn't tire him as it would've a few weeks before, and he found it weird but did not ponder on it. Finally reverting his attention to his friend, Sasuke smirked.

"I swear I'll beat you senseless next time-ttebayo!" the blond yelled, the annoyed expression on his face bringing his opponent satisfaction.

"In your wildest dreams, loser."

Apparently annoyed even by just the sole expression Sasuke wore, Naruto turned to the ruler of the judo club and waved his hands as him.

"Bushy brows, let me fight him again! The bastard's asking for it!"

Rock Lee, turning around, only offered him his _nice guy_ pose, his thumb stuck out upwards.

"As much as I appreciate your burning youth, Naruto-kun, today's morning practice is over!"

* * *

During the first period and most energy consuming one, Sakura mostly looked at the blackboard blankly, thoughts wandering wherever they could. She was one of the few honour students the school took pride in so it didn't do her that much bad, but it definitely caught Yamanaka Ino's attention, the latter confronting the former about it at lunchtime.

"You get one date, forehead, and you're so all over it that you're not even paying attention to me."

Sakura offered her a slightly troubled smile and pulled a few hair behind her ear.

"It's not about that," she sat herself on the bench, "it's more like I don't have control over myself today, it's weird."

Ino sighed and dug into her lunch.

"So?"

"What?"

"Where'll the two of you be going?"

Sakura took a mouthful of rice and flushed slightly at the thought of the conversation she had the previous evening with her beloved Sasuke-kun.

"He said he'd pick me up and then I'd see."

"Heh, who knew the antisocial Uchiha Sasuke could actually be a prince?" the blond teased.

"I've been feeling this for a while, that he, no, we … reached that level, but…" Sakura stammered, averting her gaze.

"But what? If you're not the girl he loves then there isn't one."

* * *

"Sakura-chan, wait for us, we'll be walking home together!" Naruto announced with a pat on her shoulder as he passed by her shoe locker.

"Got it." She replied, wrapping her muffler around her neck.

The girl put on her shoes without a hurry and threw her bag on her shoulder, watching the students leave. As usual, her guys would probably make her wait a bit since they were assigned to lock their club room and on that particular day, Naruto had been on day duty with Nara Shikamaru, the latter ditching him eventually.

Once the hallway was cleared, sign that most students were already gone, she stretched her arms above her head and unusually enough, she felt this strong urge to go to the infirmary. So, she left.

Up the stairs and around the corner, the girl walked, briefly scanning every class. What for, she didn't question herself. And then, _why am I going to the infirmary again?_ was what she asked herself, but to no avail. She was dead-set on going there.

And after opening the door, she collapsed.

* * *

 **Melonpan = is a type of sweet bun from are made from an enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough. Their appearance resembles a melon, such as a rock melon (cantaloupe). They are not traditionally melon flavored, but in recent times it has become popular for manufacturers to add melon to melon bread.**

 **Bento = is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine.**

 **Karepan = is a popular Japanese food. An amount of Japanese curry is wrapped in a piece of dough, and the dough coated in bread crumbs, and deep fried.**

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! As promised, this is the first chapter to this story and I've actually got it all planned out and am really excited myself to see it through. I know it doesn't look too dramatic or so yet, but the next chapter should be pretty hectic xD

What do you guys think this story is about?

Also, I'm sorry if the characters seem OOC or so, but I'm trying, I swear. I'm just not good at portraying them properly yet, but please stick with me!

And to those who like it so far and review it, you're so appreciated, really!

Also, this first chapter is rather short but the usual length will be around 5-6k words, promise!

See you guys pretty soon!

* _Fashion means war_ will also get a _real_ update soon!

/Ella


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two:** _ **When shit goes down -**_

„ _ **We live in a rainbow of chaos." –**_ **Paul Cezanne**

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of the infirmary as she was lying on the bed found in the room.

"Finally, you're coming to your senses." A vaguely familiar voice spoke.

Once her vision got less blurry and she deciphered the situation, her eyes shot wide open.

"You - !"

* * *

"Dobe, didn't you say Sakura was waiting for us?" Sasuke asked, surprised not to see her by the shoe lockers as Naruto had stated before.

Catching up with his comrade, the blond cocked his head to the side in pure astonishment; the first thing he did was to check his phone for any messages, missed calls but couldn't find any.

"Am I going crazy? –"

"About time you realized it."

Attempting to strangle Sasuke, Naruto let out an irritated noise.

"I swear you're such a bastard! But, did you get any message from Sakura-chan?"

"None."

Naruto walked up ahead and checked her shoe locker, but there was nothing unusual about it and after scanning their surroundings, he turned to the raven haired and suggested that they give her a call, because he wouldn't want to leave without her if she had been waiting for them.

Sasuke calmly dialled her number, but still couldn't shake the sour taste in his throat, the feeling that something was wrong, he'd been having it the whole day.

"I can't reach her."

Naruto scratched his head.

"Do you think she's gone home ahead and her phone just died out? But it's not like we took so long!"

The Uchiha felt like he should give this incident some importance, not only to please the bad feeling he was having but also because it was very unlike the pinkette to be letting her phone run out of batteries without giving some sort of sign. Perhaps someone had stolen her phone? Or maybe she got hypoglycaemia and collapsed?

Hypoglycaemia? But if that had happened, wouldn't Sakura quickly become aware of it and, perhaps, head to the infirmary?

Infirmary.

"Naruto," Sasuke began, turning on his heel, "Let's just go to the infirmary."

* * *

Sakura struggled, and pulled, and fought but to no avail. Her limbs were tightly and safely tied to the bed and 2 inches was the most she could muster to move. The man sitting on the chair next to her bed, watching her futile struggle to free herself wore this blank yet satisfied smirk on his quite expressionless face.

"I really should do it, but it's so amusing watching you fight, flower."

In her rage, the roseate shot him a deadly glare and, well, spit on his face. As he wiped it, the smirk wiped itself as well.

"Not a very gentle flower, now are you. I'll let you have it rough then."

His hand reached for her hair and pulled her head upwards, closer to himself as he bent and he licked her neck, and up to her ear before throwing her back down on the bed. Satisfaction was plastered on his face and Sakura could swear he became more vivid.

"Why are you doing this, Sasori?" she hissed between her gritted teeth.

It took her a few moments in the beginning to recognize him, but since she was that close with Uchiha Sasuke, it was only normal to have basic knowledge of Uchiha Itachi's, Sasuke's brother's friends. She'd always found the whole bunch strange, how they'd always look at her somewhat intently and the Haruno wished it was only her imagination, but now she was convinced she had suspected the truth.

"Why are you trying to rape me?"

His finger traced along her neck and down to her cleavage before beastly ripping her shirt and exposing her white bra to him.

"I wouldn't want you to despair, since _they_ didn't tell you anything …"

Sasori removed the belt from his pants and proceeded to unzip them, only to place himself on top of her.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, fervently trying to move.

"I'm not romantic, you know, so I won't kiss you, but – but your fruit is too good to pass in the end."

"YOU DIRTBAG!" and she forced herself to bend her knees and with all her might keep her legs tightly closed.

"It's just too funny how you keep struggling, but what's even funnier is that you were actually named after a flower…"

And the redheaded man forcibly spread her legs open with a brute force Sakura hadn't witnessed before and it caused her such pain that she knew her legs would be completely bruised from the unimaginable pressure. She fought and fought, but couldn't stop the eventual few tears that dripped down her cheek as he ripped off her skirt and pulled off her panties.

"You'll enjoy it … eventually."

Sakura cried and cried, but closed her eyes and still shook fervently from side to side, as hectic as she could. She would not be that weak to give into him, whatever he would do to her. She'd fight, because it was her virginity at stake, it was a girl's virginity at stake – not just that, but also her integrity, and the possible pregnancy that would lead to later on. And for a moment there she thought of Sasuke as she struggled, of the love she bore for him, and of Naruto, and how she cared for him, and how both of her boys would be disappointed that she hadn't put up a tough fight.

She was the top member of the boxing club, she had been taught by the Uchiha basic judo and self-defence moves, she could keep up with him jogging for God's sake! So she rapidly moved from side to side hoping that either the rope would loosen or it would break.

 _Snap!_

She felt the burning pain the hand left after it slapped her face.

"You're going to regret this. I was going to leave you alive once I was done, but I suppose that's not the case anymore."

And he punched her, causing her cheek to redden and the pain stung her. Sakura felt a slight despair raising in her chest, burdening her heart and making her clench her fists, and she pleaded for help, screamed as much as she could and then –

Her prayers were answered.

The door burst open and he, _he_ shot towards them and threw himself on Sasori with such strength that he caused him to fall on the floor with a loud thud, such a strong impact that the nearby furniture piece shook so much that flacons and medicine bottles fell and shattered to pieces of glass.

Sasuke Uchiha continuously punched the redhead that he had managed to catch so off-guard and Uzumaki Naruto was untying her ropes, and for once – they looked so utterly similar. Both wielded that disgusted expression impregnated with the will to murder the villain.

She rejoiced and cried, muffled words coming out her mouth and all the blond could make out was _'don't look at me'_ and _'thank you'_. The Uzumaki freed her and turned to look at his comrade who had successfully beaten Sasori senseless, as he was completely bruised and he had definitely passed out at some point. Whilst not doubting the strength of his friend for a second, Naruto still found it insane how he managed to do it so fast and so strong, that the whole infirmary was wrecked.

Sakura swallowed and hugged herself as she was completely shaking, post-shock symptoms manifesting. The unstoppable tears she was crying blurred her vision and she closed her eyes, gratefulness being the only thing she was feeling, not even the pain the redheaded had caused her.

Before the Uzumaki could do anything however, he witnessed an act that Uchiha Sasuke had never really committed before his eyes, or before anyone's else. He sprung up and pulled her so tightly into his chest that her petite form blended into his large embrace and the only sign you were given that she was there were her cries.

"Naruto… Sasuke-kun…"

The raven haired, whose eyes were tightly shut, stroke her hair gently and internally cursed himself for not arriving there earlier, for not trusting his gut entirely.

"Thank you… Thank you both so much…"

Naruto swallowed and accepted, accepted that he could not interfere between them but also felt genuinely happy – because they, all 3 of them, shared such a deep bond that he decided it wasn't even important that she had not chosen them and he gave them his blessing, entirely.

After a few moments though, he stepped closer to them and sat on the bed as well, and pat her head.

"We're sorry that we allowed this to happen, Sakura-chan…"

The embrace slowly broke and she turned to look at him, eyes bloodshot but lips curled into a relieved smile. She leant forward rapidly and hugged him as well, hands wrapped around his neck shortly before pulling away.

"No, thank you, really. It's a miracle you figured I was here anyway." Her gaze shifted between the both of them.

As she breathed in, a loud snore could be heard and she wiped the last traces of the tears she had been crying.

"I don't know how you guys did it, but I'm so grateful you did."

The turmoil inside Sasuke's chest wasn't lightening, as he felt a mixture of regret, despair, self-hate and hate targeted at the passed out Sasori lying on the floor. His hands were balled into fists but he still looked at her, at the happiness that had come over her when they rescued her.

"Sakura." His lips parted slightly and the deep frown was still on his face.

"Did he…?"

Despite still feeling the shock, she mustered a reassuring smile and shook her head.

"No. You arrived just in time."

Despite not being enough, that did lighten the anger and despair that had overcome him. As he looked her over once more, he became aware of the fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear as she had her legs tightly closed, but she was probably too exhausted to tell them not to look.

He took off his blazer and placed it on her shoulders.

"Naruto," he began, eyes falling to the ground, "Go to the club room. Go get my trousers."

Without further ado, the blond left the room to complete the task assigned to him.

"He hurt you."

Despite the betrayal of her eyebrows and the weakness they showed, she attempted a cocky smile.

"I resisted, and fought. That's why he hit me."

Damn did he feel proud of her.

* * *

Waiting for Sakura to return outside of her house, dressed in her own clean clothes, Sasuke shove his hands into his pockets and despaired even more.

"I'm just as angry and desperate as you, Sasuke." Naruto commented. "I don't want to calm down, or to forget about this."

As the pinkette opened the door, the raven haired led the way to his house across the street and as the door opened he felt enraged but thankful he spotted his brother there. Thankful that he could storm right it and grab his collar, slamming him into a wall.

"Mind explaining me what's gotten into your fucking friend?!" his loud yell startled both Sakura and Naruto, but more than that his violent act towards his brother frightened her a bit.

"Sasuke, calm down!" Itachi replied, strongly pushing his little brother away to free himself. "What's wrong?"

In the meantine, Mikoto had also joined them, astonished and worried sick.

"Sasuke, explain yourself! What is wrong with you?" she inquired.

Turning to face her then back to his brother, he shot him the deadliest glare that had been seen of him thus far.

"One of your fuckers, that redhead, tied her in the infirmary and tried to rape her, that's what's wrong!" Sasuke loudly yelled, fists clenched and ready to hit Itachi in his rage.

Whilst understanding his anger and being happy because of the depth of his feelings for her, Sakura shot forward and caught his hand, holding tightly onto it.

"Sasuke-kun, please stop it. Don't…"

And he stopped in his tracks, despairing. Still, he glared at his sibling, blood boiling. The astonishment on Itachi's face spoke rather of betrayal than of disbelief.

"Sasori tried to rape Sakura?"

Mikoto's hands covered her mouth, and she stepped closer, arms stretched towards the pinkette so as to pull her close and soothe her. Her expression showed a painful regret and she settled on holding the pinkette's hands.

Sasuke, not even knowing what response to expect from his brother let alone how he wanted him to respond, gritted his teeth and glared, futilely hoping glares could hurt. Somehow though, during the few moments that Itachi's expression shifted from shock to one of being betrayed and not knowing how to handle the situation or even where to start.

The younger Uchiha, on the other hand, was very attentive to the elder's face, and one seemingly unbelievable thought crossed his mind rapidly, but still, since he was unable to control himself properly, let it slip out of his mouth.

"You're not surprised, you thought this might happen one day."

Sasuke's words threw both Sakura and Naruto off-guard, earning a loud _'huh?!'_ from the latter as the former cocked her head in both disbelief and confusion.

"How could that be, Sasuke-kun," her gaze slowly shifted to Itachi's, "How could Itachi-san know?"

The said shut his eyes in a calm motion as though he was searching for the right words to expose an ugly truth. Mikoto had let go of Sakura's hands and when her youngest son's eyes landed on her, she was seen bearing the same expression her eldest son did. One of regret, and entirely troubled.

"What is going on?" Sasuke strongly inquired, pushing himself to be as calm and as reasonable as he could be.

"Sasuke, we're so sorry." The mother let out, reaching out for him. Her attempt was however cut off, as he rejected her apologetic sign of affection.

"What is this all about?"

* * *

An hour later, the five of them were seated in the living room, Sakura placed between her two friends on the couch and her eyes wandered around. They had all been waiting for the head of the Uchiha family, Uchiha Fugaku to arrive home and when he did, he was not pleased to say the least to hear about the recent course of events.

"Father, tell us what's going on." Sasuke inquired, the strength in his steady voice startling his mother.

Fugaku closed his eyes for brief moments as he crossed his arms, brows furrowing.

"If you lose your temper, I will do what it takes to calm you down." was his reply.

Fearing another outburst of her beloved, Sakura sneakily placed her right hand on top of his left one, as though to ensure him that she was okay and she was there and that was something they had to endure.

"We're not human."

This few words and the impact they had was unimaginable – the three seated on the couched were left wide eyed, in disbelief rather than surprise.

" _Not_ human? Do you think this is some sort of joke, father?"

Itachi gesticulated towards him to stop interrupting, and the importance he seemed to give that statement made Naruto gulp. Just then, knocking could be heard on the door.

"It should be Naruto's parents, I'll go and let them in." Mikoto explained and proceeded.

"Mom and dad?! What do they have to do with this?"

Naruto got up and watched his parents, Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato enter the room, sharing the same troubled expressions as the Uchiha's wore.

"As I was saying," Fugaku sighed, eyes fallen to the floor, "We're not human."

He pointed to a couple empty chairs for the Uzumaki's to sit themselves on.

"For a more proper explanation, there're 3 types of human-like beings in this world."

Sakura blinked finding this sort of premise not only disheartening for some reason but also completely unexpected.

"There're the _humans_ , normal people as all of you believed to be, as you believed every other person to be, then there're the _predators_ , which we are."

"Predators?" Sasuke sneered.

"We're human like, with few differences. Differences in physical strength, couple sensory abilities and other things I will present you shortly. As I was saying, us predators have stronger bodies, both to sicknesses and in brute force, literally and you might have noticed it – how in the past couple of years you've gotten really strong, my son and how, surprisingly," the father's eyes turned from his son's to his blond friend's, "You're the only one that can match him in strength."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other for a couple of seconds before reverting to the head of the Uchiha's.

"Some of our senses are also more developed – our sense of smell is the most important out of them. It is not like that of a dog, but is better developed in the sense that we can determine the nature of those around you just by it. For example, Naruto here has always smelled differently to you, a specific, spicy scent that both his parents had as well, and you felt that, Sasuke. The other way around as well. The girl here however, smells unique, and strongly alike a flower."

Sakura gulped as her subconscious finally let it sink in, let the way Sasori had been calling her back in the infirmary in – _flower_.

"We predators don't necessarily have a longer life span than your average human, we're not immortal by any means. We don't have a goal in life different to humans, and we do not feed ourselves differently – you've been living like normal humans for your entire life, so you know you're not very peculiar. What is specific to us and what makes us call ourselves predators is how we can take life energy from the third type of human-like beings found in this world."

" _Life energy_?" Sakura murmured, feeling unpleasant saying that.

Fugaku only nodded his head.

"Life energy, or _chakra_ , is the energy found within the body, the soul if you want. Normal humans have weak life energy which makes us unable to consume it, and as to us predators, our life energy depends on our kind. Predators can be _saviours_ and _killers_."

At the sound of the word _killers_ , Sakura shifted in her seat, following by a gulp from Naruto. Sasuke, however, was as still as dead, icy cold as well.

" _Saviours_ , as the Uzumaki clan here, can consume life energy from others but also give back to the ones they take it from at the same time. Their blood can heal if drunk, with a mediocre effect. The _killers_ , on the other hand do the exact opposite – they take, or _steal_ this chakra, even more than a _saviour_. Their blood is usually known to be strong poison depending on the quantity. They can't heal others but they are usually physically superior, both in strength and senses. The Uchiha clan has been known for centuries for being the strongest _killers_ dynasty. We're no exception."

Processing the newly offered information, Sakura raised her hand as to ask for permission to speak, which she was rewarded with.

"And the third type of human-like creature, sir? What is it?"

The lack of light in her features told Fugaku that she had already predicted the answer.

"You seem to have found the answer. Since there are _predators_ , there should be _prey_ as well. And that is exactly what you are."

The Haruno felt shivers running down her spine and despite knowing that nor Sasuke nor his family were dangerous, she couldn't help anxiety pilling up in her chest.

"The preys are beings with very strong life energy, and possess a lot of it. Generally, they are harmless, or as harmless as normal humans could be. What is different about them is their smell, that allows any predator to spot them and depending on the intensity of their scent, possibly determine whether or not it's a stronger prey, meaning has more and better quality chakra for the predator to steal. You, are a very unique, very strong type of prey – the most rare. For as long as we have existed, there have been very few preys of this kind, as in one per decades even."

Hearing these last words, Sasuke grew restless, unable to hold himself back from asking the most important question at hand.

"How do _predators_ take life energy from _preys_?"

For a moment there, Fugaku seemed disgusted.

"Through physical contact, or rather pleasure. Sharing kisses anywhere on the body but most importantly on the lips, caresses, embraces, skin contact, but the supreme of all is the sexual contact itself. Chakra is exchanged by doing these said things, and as I have said, depending on the type of predator, either both parties get each other's life energy within their bodies or the _killers_ steal it from their prey."

Uchiha Mikoto had long since joined her husband, holding onto his arm and caressing it now and then, she watched her son's and his friends' expressions shift from surprise to confusion and back to fear and ultimately to an embarrassed understanding of her husband's words.

"So, why didn't you tell us, why didn't you tell Naruto and I?" Sasuke stood himself and his voice slowly but steadily rose. He felt his self-control running out and considering what had just been explained to him, he felt it was justified to spat himself at them.

"What were you thinking, keeping this all a secret, and whilst there apparently was such an important _prey_ in our lives?"

"We concluded that you weren't born _predators_ , the both of you. For one to be born as a predator, you need to inherit this – meaning, if one of your parents is a normal human, a normal human could easily be born. That's the effect the weak life energy of humans has on the descendants in a family."

Naruto, who had been silent all along, but still deeply affected by this hidden truth, eyed both of his parents and bit his lip.

"So, one of you is normal?"

Kushina let go of her husband's hand and stepped closer to her son.

"Your father is a prey. I, on the other hand, am the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, the most powerful _saviours_ clan."

"So, otou-chan was a prey?!" it was Naruto's turn to sprung up, but unlike Sasuke, the blond was utterly surprised.

"Yes," Kushina nodded, reaching for her son's hand, "He was a pretty strong prey."

Thus, it was concluded that if between two predators a child was born, it would only be of the same nature, whereas if between a prey or normal human and a predator, the child born between the two could either be normal or necessarily a predator. Apparently, preys did not have a chance to manifest their nature in the lineage.

"I suppose mother is a normal human." Sasuke mustered the patience to talk as calmly as possible.

A nod.

"And you thought we wouldn't turn out to be the way you are."

Another nod.

"And you thought this was acceptable, even so? To hide it from us even though we had the right to know, and," his hand pointed to the still seated Sakura, "Leave her unprotected?! What is wrong with you?"

Fugaku's features sharpened as he silently forced Sasuke to sit back down and control himself. However, disappointment could be read in the pain swimming in his dark orbs. Disappointment in himself, most likely.

"We took what measures we could to protect you. If you're not a predator, you should not have to deal with this."

"Why?! Maybe it would've been expected when there was no one vulnerable in our lives, but since that was obviously not the case – " the son stopped amidst his sentence, and closed his eyes, "Father. You stated that our blood has different effects if drunk. Since mine should be poisoning the one who drinks it and Naruto somewhat healing, I suppose Sakura's is what? Some elixir that makes you immortal?"

To be completely honest, as her beloved spoke those words, Sakura's knees had weakened and she pleaded the heavens if there were any that no one saw her slightly trembling as she had deducted the answer to that question.

"While it doesn't make you immortal, the blood of a prey, or their virginity can expand one's life span and heal their wounds. To what extent, it depends on the strength of the prey. Hers particularly is very potent – it could give you up to 50 years and entirely heal and rejuvenate you."

Sasuke swallowed and let his gaze wander around the room to help him defocus from his rage and process the information. Apart from the disgust that he felt, his heartstrings pulled strongly when he thought of the pinkette and the situation she was in.

"So, you mean to say that you hid all this from me," and everyone went wide eyed when the seeing the fierce look and the peculiar colour in his own orbs, "Fully knowing that she could be kidnapped and depending on the predator raped or killed at the same time?"

That was more than he could handle, and the next moment, much to everyone's surprise, Sasuke had leapt forward and whilst grabbing his collar, slammed his father on the wall. Anger was no longer the word to describe the bitter taste this betrayal left in his mouth. It had a lot to do with Sakura, and how they threatened her safety, but it was also the fact that had things not gone the way they had he would have been left out on the family's secrets.

And just as rapid as Sasuke was to corner his father, so was Itachi in separating the two and holding his brother into place until he no longer struggled.

"The _sharingan_. It seems you've just awakened it." Fugaku muttered, between coughs caused by the lack of air he'd been exposed to by his son.

" _Sharingan_?" Sakura inquired in a low voice.

"Predators possess particular abilities, depending on the family they belong to. Us Uchiha's can awaken the _sharingan_ if strong enough. It is an ability that manifests by offering the user a greater and sharper eyesight to the point where you can clearly see up to 50 metres, and you're able to see the strength of others' life energy and even predict their movements. It is also a feature that allows you to entice and lure prey without their awareness. The irises of the users of _sharingan_ turn to crimson and have black comma shaped dots spiralling."

Closely listening to his father's explanation, Sasuke instinctively turned to look in the closest mirror and his brows furrowed. His eyes, as the elder had said, were crimson red, bloody even and they looked fierce. He felt as though it was not his reflection there, it was not the Uchiha Sasuke he had grown to be but some starving, bastardly animal. His gaze slowly and fearfully turned to Sakura, whom was still seated and much to his surprise and relief, she did not express any fear, nor was she seduced.

Her soft features spoke of surprise and acknowledgement, and it relieved him – he was still the same Uchiha Sasuke to her, even with eyes of that inhuman colour. His orbs fell on Naruto next and he became aware of the fact that he could literally see their aura and the strength of it – Naruto's aura was a bright yellow that many would describe as comforting, and so was his mother's. Minato's, on the other hand, was a soft blue, quite faint but not really and it really gave him a rejuvenating feeling; so, he looking back at Sakura, whose much stronger blue aura he had one way or another overlooked.

 _The strongest prey_ , he recalled.

His eyes finally falling on his family, the family he had cherished so much, he felt betrayed, betrayed by his own apparent nature – their auras, except for his mother whom had none, were black, but Itachi's was more proemiment, meaning he was stronger, perhaps? Feeling compelled to look into the mirror once more, Sasuke felt disgusted at himself.

His aura was truly pitch black.

"We're scum." He found himself murmuring.

"Indeed," and for once the son found support in his father's expression, "But we can't change who we are. We can live without taking life energy however."

After another few seconds of silence, Sakura sat herself up at last.

"Fugaku-san."

All eyes were on her.

"Or, rather, Itachi-san. Puppetry. Puppetry is Sasori's abilities, or something of the sort, am I right?"

The eldest son felt purely amazed at how fast she had been gluing the puzzle pieces back together and, with a gentle smile, nodded.

"That's correct. Even though it's more like a long-distance hypnosis, with a lot of room for error."

"What do you mean?" the Haruno inquired.

"He doesn't need contact to make his victims follow his orders, nor does he need to be really close. He only needs to be able to sense your chakra, and for you to be weaker in that moment, or weakened over time. Then, without any sort of reason, the victim will feel the urge to do what he had implanted in their mind to do."

Sakura pounded her open hand with her fist, as to mimic that she had come to the realisation of an important matter.

"Which was to compel me to head for the infirmary. Due to some reason, I had been absentminded for the entire day and, while waiting for Naruto and Sasuke-kun by the shoe lockers, I suddenly felt that I _had_ to head for the infirmary."

The mention of Sasori and his specific ability as a predator reminded Sasuke of why he had been so angry in the first place.

"Now that that's cleared, tell me nii-san, how could you befriend such predators, knowing that they couldn't be trusted?!"

Seeing the now bitter look on Itachi's face, Sakura wished Sasuke hadn't been so harsh on him.

"I didn't _befriend_ them, I made a pact. That was my only way of protecting Sakura, even if poorly."

The little brother's balled fist dropped and muscles loosening, his hand swung parallel to his hips.

"I traded my services for their agreement on not touching her. And because Sasori couldn't help himself anymore, he broke it and thus became our enemy."

" _Services_?"

Fugaku turned to faced Sasuke head on and the latter could not decipher what the former was thinking of.

"Itachi has been giving this group of predators, the _Akatsuki_ , that you always believed to be his friends his blood on a regular basis to serve as poison. As I have said before, the Uchiha blood is a very strong poison, and judging by the quantity they have accumulated, they have enough to poison an army."

A glare.

"They won't be getting any anymore. We can defend ourselves and Sakura as well. They betrayed the pact."

The room fell into an awkward silence, but not for long – the pinkette hadn't had all of her questions answered yet.

"I understand why I'm being targeted," she began, "But I don't understand why I'm being targeted _that_ badly."

Fugaku only sighed in response, and much to everyone's surprise, for the first time, Minato spoke up.

"As a fellow prey, I believe I can answer most of your questions." He smiled gently, sending off a much more comforting vibe.

"Then, Minato-san, please tell me. Please tell me everything."

A nod of agreement.

"Another important thing to us predators and prey is our age, or so to say initiation. You can be of either nature but, when you reach your 18th birthday, your development takes a turn. For a prey, that's when you reach your climax, your full potential. If you are to be claimed, or stripped of your virginity on that day, you will give your partner most of your life energy granting them strength to the point where any other virgin predator can't even hope to equal yours. However, a prey is to die shortly after their 18th birthday if not claimed, and usually death comes about 1-2 weeks after the said date."

 _Things are getting really serious_ , Sakura thought to herself and gulped.

"With predators on the other hand, they can live up to 30 years at most without claiming any sort of prey. They grow weaker and weaker and age much faster as time goes by from their 18th birthday. If they do claim someone however, they can lead a normal life without the need to prey on another victim. The unfortunate thing with most predators is that _barely anyone settles with just one victim_. As you might have guessed, the more preys, the more strength you get."

"Another thing, Minato-san," she rose her finger, "The quality of a prey."

"Ah, yes. While those of the potential I possessed can be claimed repeatedly, it would take over a hundred of victims on their peak of potential to equal you as you are right now."

She felt her knees weaken at how bad things looked and if not for Naruto now holding onto her arm, Sakura would've crashed.

"B-but, what am I? How come I can be this valuable?"

" **Shinseina hana** , that is the proper term for the type of prey you are. And in the case this wasn't explained before, preys occur randomly. As long as none of the parents is a predator, any child born can be a prey. We do not know enough about that as of yet."

 _Sacred flower_ , Sakura thought. That's what these people or whatever they wore referred to her as apparently. The whole explanation process stirred up her insides and the fact that she was being hunted to be either raped or killed brought to a critical point.

"It's getting quite late," Itachi gazed out the window and softly spoke, "maybe you should go home, rest and meditate on all this."

"One last question," the Haruno pushed, "please."

Mikoto nodded understandingly.

"Which is better for the predator – taking the virginity of their prey or killing them?"

Having kept quiet because of how grim this whole situation had turned out to be, Kushina no longer felt comfortable.

"Since life energy is a spiritual thing," the redhead began, "Drinking the blood of the prey could be seen as a violation, you know? It offers you great strength, and it can only be rivalled and surpassed by sexual contact, but it's for a limited period of time. You would need to kill 10 average preys to get the same amount and quality of chakra of 2 whom you've claimed. So, sexual contact is usually preferred."

Naruto gave out a dry chuckle.

"So much for us being innocent children that don't think about sleeping together."

* * *

 **Shinseina Hana = sacred flower (I hope that's correct at least)**

* * *

Hey guys! As promised, here is the second chapter to this story and although this might not be all romantic and all, it is packed with explanations that might or might not be readdressed later. I hope you guys enjoy this so far!

Also, if there are any things that aren't clear you can ask, but most things that I've left hidden were left like that on purpose, so who knows if I can give out the answer! ;)

Please review and tell me what you think of it so far, and thanks to all of you that were so kind to review and follow this story :3

/Ella


	3. Chapter Three

**Warning:** I don't usually re-read the chapters due to lack of time, so please excuse any mistypes and grammar mistakes. Thank you!

* * *

 **Chapter Three:** _ **Vulnerability -**_

„ _ **Pain is an illusion and you are just confused… but I am only human."–**_ **Krewella,** _ **Human**_

* * *

The large living room of the Uchiha's had cleared up, leaving three youngsters standing, each with a different expression, one more frightened than the other. So, it really was like one of those novels – the world could just take a damn 180 degrees and wreck their lives.

Sasuke breathed out and seemingly forgot about the others' presence, so he slowly made his way to the balcony hoping that the freezing air of a winter night will slap him so hard that it would make the past few hours turn into a bad dream, something that he could just laugh off and call himself lame for.

Naruto, left alone with Sakura, had enough. He let out irritated noises as he fervently scratched his head, eventually pulling on his hairs.

"Now I'll definitely go crazy!" was what the only coherent yell that came out of his mouth.

His funny outburst definitely lightened the atmosphere, and caused the Haruno to chuckle. At that moment, she only wanted to brush off the news that had been brought to her, she did not want to show them that she was wrecked and thus on the verge of crying the heck out of her pretty eyeballs.

"Well, I think you're pretty idiotic already." Effort was put to keep her voice steady, but the smile behind her words wasn't completely forced.

And he smiled back.

"But you know, Sakura-chan," Naruto stretched out his arm, and, with his hand balled into a fist, made a dramatic motion whilst sticking his thumb out upwards, "Don't worry! I'll definitely protect you!"

She was _definitely_ grateful for that. The Haruno might have preferred fighting alone and showcasing her own strength, but the fact that this adorable idiot was going to ensure her safety just lightened her burden.

"That's a Lee-san move, right?" she, however, teased.

And indeed, Naruto had opted for the president of their judo club, Rock Lee's _'nice guy'_ pose, one that the owner would describe as _'infallible'_ , but not because it was so, but because it dared you to succeed at whatever you were deciding on achieving.

The Uzumaki flushed a little, though, and chuckled. After a few moments, he half-turned to look at the balcony, place that their other companion hadn't returned from.

"Go, go bring him inside. I'll be waiting for you guys in his room."

A nod.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't erase that image from his mind, how he gazed at himself in the mirror and how his eyes bore that inhuman colour and although it might have looked somewhat cool, it led him to feel like he'd morphed into a monster.

"It's freezing out here."

Words came from behind him, and the voice that coated was the one he felt he wanted to hear the most while never hearing it again. The truth behind their natures filled his chest with the utmost turmoil and he needed time to think, he needed time to ponder on how to protect Sakura.

But it was too late to still be lost in his wreck of a train of thought, as the Haruno had joined him, hands placed on the railing of the balcony to support herself.

"Who would have thought that things would turn out to be this way?" she chuckled.

 _Why are you laughing this off_ , he sneered in his mind.

And she turned to face him and she strongly held his gaze. He saw that comfort in her vivid green orbs that he knew so well (but couldn't quite make out their colour in the dark) and he knew, or at least assumed that she had not for a second seen him for what he wasn't – she'd never seen him as the monster he felt he was.

"You know, Sasuke-kun," her index finger slowly rose, pointing at his eyes, "That thing from earlier, the _sharingan_. It looked really cool."

 _Don't say that, that_ thing _might just lure you and get you killed one day_ , he clenched the fist that was not holding onto the railing.

"It gave you that dangerous aura…" she trailed off, losing eye contact for a few seconds, "But it felt protective, like… It looked as though it threatened whoever was going to hurt those dear to you."

The tension that had built up in his chest flew away and he finally became aware of his pulse and his numb from the cold nose.

"Your eyes were really pretty. I liked them a lot."

 _Why don't you fear this thing I've become_ , was the rhetorical question that popped into his head.

And she shivered.

"Maybe we should go inside? It's really freezing and, besides, Naruto's waiting for us upstairs."

* * *

The three of them were sat randomly in Sasuke's room, but none was saying anything. The Uchiha's nose was still tomato red, as were his cheeks from his exposure to the cold of air of the winter night and he seemingly was meditating. The Uzumaki, on the other hand, had his eyes shut and had an exhausted expression plastered on his face and it was obvious that he did not have the energy to deal with any of that.

Sakura, however, wore a worried expression as her eyes took turns in who to gaze at. She didn't have the heart to think about herself because it scared her way too much, and she was genuinely concerned with their mental sanity.

And then, she felt investigative.

"What if … we tried something?" she proposed.

The blond opened his eyes and set them on hers, head cocked to the side, whilst the raven haired simply watched her.

"Like what, Sakura-chan?"

"Maybe some sort of test … To see how my supposed powers as a prey work."

Both guys flushed a little at her request.

And in turn, she blushed deeper.

"N-no, nothing like that!" he hands were moving rapidly in sign of a complete rejection of the idea.

"I was thinking about holding hands, maybe? Just to see if it makes any difference."

To this proposal, on the other hand, they agreed. Sakura walked and sat herself next to Sasuke and she felt some faint shyness in her chest, but it wasn't hard to move past it. She stuck out her hand and allowed the Uchiha to hold it, and much to her surprise and excitement (and despite the fact that she shouldn't have thought about that when they doing major experiments), their hands fit together.

 _Pull yourself together, Sakura. You're not some head-over-heels teenager, except that you are, but pull yourself together!_ She thought to herself as she focused on the act. Few moments later, she felt it within herself, the feeling of putting physical effort into whatever activity whilst sitting completely still.

Sasuke's eyes widened a visible bit as he felt himself grow more energetic, felt soothed and as though he was literally eating – that fulfilling sensation. So, he used his _sharingan_ to watch what was happening and he found it peculiar but still interesting how he could see her bright aura expand onto his hand and along his arm … until it turned into the pitch black colour his aura was.

And he let go, ceasing the use of his ability.

"Did you feel that, Sasuke-kun?" the roseate had that amazed look on her face as though she had tried this hard and disheartening chemistry experiment and it actually was a complete success.

"Me too, me too!" Naruto rushed her, seeing that he had that same amazed expression.

Still standing before him, the Haruno stuck out her arm and he held her hand. After the same amount of time that was necessary for either Sakura or Sasuke to feel the connection, Naruto's let out a surprised _'oh'_ as he felt like being plugged and charged, _much like a cellphone_ , he thought.

The girl felt exactly the same. She could feel a different energy than hers crawl under skin and fill her and it felt nice and stress-reducing. The both of them shared an excited look and Sakura skipped a tiny bit in her place and instinctively turned to look at the Uchiha, whom, despite the slight jealousy in his features, seemed very intrigued.

"I guess the experiment was a success then."

* * *

Collapsed on her bed, Sakura was finally thrown into a cage occupied by the wild animal that was her mind and she allowed herself to be devoured by her thoughts – it was her duty to fulfil if she wanted to ever make sense out of what her life was going to become.

Her lids slid above her irises, turning off the lights and the world around her and she meditated. There was a chance that she would not make it past 2 weeks into her soon to be 18 years of life, there was a chance that she would not make it past the next day if she was attacked, there was a chance that if claimed by Uchiha Sasuke she'd be allowed to live her life and she felt the joy that giving him her all and him being granted power would grant her…

And then she felt all embarrassed at the thought of being claimed by her Sasuke-kun. She hadn't even been kissed yet! She was a brave, not-beating-around-the-bush girl, so she would get past the shyness such situations would cause her easily. But, still…

The roseate was very surprised with herself – less than 40 hours earlier she had been going on about how it was impossible for them to become a couple, and look at her now, all giddy with her Christmas date!

* * *

"Oka-chan."

Naruto sat beside his mother on the sofa, intently looking at her. Kushina raised an eyebrow, questioning his motive.

"Back at Sasuke's house, you never mentioned my ability. I mean, they have that cool _sharingan_ thing, but what about us? What do _we_ have?"

The redhead leant forward, caressing her son's forehead and down to his cheek, brushing away his spiky golden hair.

"It's actually kind of hard to explain, but we _chain_ things, that's what we do."

As expected, the boy was left dumbfounded and caused his mother to chuckle.

"Well, you know that more life energy and not losing it is what most predators desire. What us, Uzumaki's can do is seal away it. Ours, or others', entirely or partly, depending on who we're talking about."

"That's really cool!" Naruto excitedly interrupted.

"What did I tell you about interrupting me when I speak?"

A gulp.

"Right. Got it."

Kushina sighed and lightly chuckled.

"However, there's a price for that – as for your own chakra, you can seal as much of it as you want without any problem, but you won't be able to use it, meaning you won't be as powerful unless you set it free again."

Naruto nodded, showing that he was following the explanation.

"As for others' chakra… The amount of life energy you want to seal from someone must be found free within yourself, as your own power is what cages the other's."

"But wouldn't that make me weaker too?"

Kushina sighed tiredly.

"I guess I'll have to give you a more proper explanation tomorrow."

* * *

To Sasuke, the previous evening ended as soon as both Naruto and Sakura left his place – he did not want to face nor to talk to his family member yet. The secret they'd been holding from him his entire life was unacceptable. What were they thinking, that it was all a novel, that no matter what their actions were things would still end up alright?

So, when his alarm set off at 6 AM the next morning, he calmly dismissed it as he had been awake for a while; not the entire night, though. He silently walked to the bathroom and placed both of his hands on the sink, eyes looking straight in the mirror. He was still amazed at how, just at the thought of it, the _sharingan_ could awaken suddenly, and even more so literally open his eyes to a new world.

Gazing around, he found that not only did he see things clearer (which was intriguing since his own eyesight was great from the start) but also, his surroundings were slightly less opaque – if he tried, he could see beneath the lustrous floor of his bathroom and thus distinguish the silhouettes of his sleeping parents. Following the same principle, he could also see through the walls of the room he was in and thus see that his brother was awake, dressing himself up.

Eyes back into the mirror, Sasuke took in the sight of himself with vivid red irises once more. For some reason and causing him resentment towards his persona, he felt some sort of pride in being an Uchiha; his father had said something like _'only the strongest can awaken the_ sharingan _'_ , didn't he? And considering how much he's always wanted to be recognized by his father, it did make him even if shortly a little happier.

As he exited the room and changed into jogging-appropriate clothing, his mind wandered off again. Drinking some water down in the kitchen, he thought of the position Sakura was in. Taking into consideration Sasori's rather serious attempt at claiming her, he could only assume that there were more, so many more that might try that too.

And he was dead set on preventing that – that tension only added pressure on his already heavy chest. As he stepped outside, in the cool air of December, he concluded that the night was surely growing longer, no wonder the amount of daylight was kind of limited.

However, it was impossible for him not to notice his running partner waiting for him, seated on the stairs of her house across the street.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." She smiled excitedly.

And he couldn't help himself smiling back softly, the sort of smile only she could get from him – for few moments, however, as he then smirked.

"I might really outrun you today."

Sakura's response was a forceless hit on her chest with her fist, or rather on the quilted vest she was wearing to keep her warm, signifying that she was more than ready to race him.

Half an hour later, the two returned to their starting point, and in spite of the physical effort that was put into their jogging session, sweat balled into droplets and dripped down their faces.

"It's getting really cold." The Haruno panted.

Much to Sasuke's dismay, since they were done, so were his distractions, and he was left thinking about 100 possible scenarios that put the pinkette in danger and all that combined with the strain on his muscles gave him a nauseous feeling.

"Sasuke-kun," she stepped closer to him worriedly, "What's bothering you?"

She's been doing that for years, seeing right through him and calling him out on it. And during the years that he'd known her, he was forced to make a habit out of letting his emotions out, even if briefly at first.

"Why didn't they tell us before?" he whispered more to himself.

"What you don't know can't hurt you, that's what I think they were thinking."

Her answer was just what he expected, but even more than that, it was what he believed to be true as well.

"You could've died."

"But that didn't happen."

The Haruno rose her hand, placing it on his arm and he saw that she was pained, that the whole revelation had a huge impact on her, but it was her mental strength that he had grown to see and like.

"We can't change what's done, but we can determine what happens next."

And with the hope she lent him he returned to his house, finding his family all sat down in the kitchen whilst having breakfast.

"Ah, Sasuke," Mikoto waved her hand as to ask him to join them, "come and sit down."

And with even less enthusiasm that you'd expect, he did.

"I haven't forgiven you for what you've done," the chair creaked under his weight, "But I'll behave myself."

* * *

 _Less than 6 days until Christmas_ , Sakura thought to herself as she wandered around the cafeteria, trying to spot Ino.

She had successfully delivered the lunch boxes to her boys, but it was the Yamanaka that she habitually ate with, gossiping together and whatnot. And she was nowhere to be found in the whole cafeteria. _Great_ , the pinkette sighed. Unfortunately, as she cocked her head to every side trying to find her friend, the Haruno lost sight of her surroundings and –

 _Bam!_

Slammed herself into whoever was walking in front of her. Opening her eyes that had been shut from the impact, she scratched her head and gazed apologetically at whom she had bumped into.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata – " her arms were stretched out as to help the one she'd just caused trouble to, Hyuuga Hinata, "I was spacing out, it's entirely my fault!"

The lavender-eyed smiled gently and said that it was nothing to apologize for, as she wasn't paying attention as well. The roseate's hands made their way to the Hyuuga's, holding onto them softly.

"No, really, I should have paid attention – " her words were cut off however, as Sakura felt a weird sensation piling up in her chest and it wasn't necessarily unpleasant, just _new_ and she had nothing to compare it to.

Unconsciously letting go of Hinata's hands, emerald green orbs looked troubled as she tried to make sense out of what she had just felt. The other only watched her confused.

"…Sakura-san?"

And she was brought back to reality.

"Ah, sorry, I just remembered something." Sakura turned on her heels, "I have to go. See ya, Hinata."

* * *

"I don't get why you're asking me this, Sakura-chan."

Naruto looked at her confused, not even beginning to understand why she had asked him _that_.

"Do I need to repeat myself? Go smell Hinata!" she whispered into his ear in an irritated tone.

"Why the hell would I do that-ttebayo?!"

The Haruno's brows furrowed as she made a _shhhh_ sound, index finger close to her mouth.

"Fugaku-san told us yesterday that predators can distinguish a prey from a human by smell. I need you to get close and let me know!"

"But why Hinata?"

Sakura scanned the shoe lockers and the leaving students to make sure that the person she was looking for didn't leave.

"Earlier today, I bumped into her and I touched her hands and I got this … _weird_ feeling. It's not like with you and Sasuke-kun, when you took my life energy, it was… I don't know, it wasn't normal."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"How'd you bump into her?"

And she snapped.

" _That_ 's the thing you care about?" her fist landed on his head with a thud, "Focus, **baka**!"

The Uzumaki then compelled to her request, hand rubbing his hurting head. He gazed around and when he eventually spotted the Hyuuga, his feet made their way to her proximity, and as she was retrieving her shoes from the locker, he slightly leant forward.

The scent he was met with, that sweet and yet floral aroma, caused his eyes to widen and just then – the culprit turned around and blushed furiously looking at him, suddenly being there, so close to her.

"N-Naruto-kun?!"

The blond scratched his head, desperately trying to find some last minute excuse.

"Yo, Hinata… I was just …"

 _Damn it!_ He looked around.

"I was just wondering if you liked ramen!" he spouted.

Even though the Hyuuga bore a confused expression, her cheeks were still flushed and she pondered for a second on his question.

"I-I do?"

"Great! It's great to see people loving ramen, I mean, isn't ramen the best?!" The Uzumaki stammered, "G-gotta go now, see ya Hinata!"

Turning on his heel, Naruto walked back humiliated. Behind the corner he'd left her at, Sakura was laughing loudly, holding onto her stomach.

"' _I was wondering if you liked ramen'?_ You're so lame!" she spoke between chuckles.

Naruto, however, was annoyed to the point his face turned so red that he could snap any moment.

"It's all your fault!" he spat at her, steam rushing out of his ears. "What was I supposed to say?! ' _Don't mind me, Hinata, I was just smelling you out! You know, just like a dog!'_ ?

"S-so?" Sakura wiped a tear from the corner of her eye away, "About the smell?"

The Uzumaki calmed himself and, instead of annoyance, confusion was written all over his face.

"She smelled … well, almost like you do, Sakura-chan. Only it's not as powerful, the scent."

"So Hinata is indeed a prey." The girl concluded, falling into thought.

"Who would have known that so many people around us were not what we thought they were, Naruto?"

* * *

On the walk home, as usual, Sasuke joined his friends and the two of them presented the newly found information about their classmate being a prey as well to him. That revelation did have a big enough impact on his mental state as it just kept getting better and better – their world was more or less nothing like it used to be.

In order to get more answers, he proposed that they all have lunch at the Uchiha household where, much to their shock and dismay, an unwelcomed guest was there waiting for them, surrounded by his family.

" _You_ dare show your face here?" Sasuke hissed as he threw his bag on the nearest chair.

Both Naruto and Sakura had the same reaction as they looked at _him_ , at the one who triggered the 180 turn on their lives – Sasori.

"I don't have any intention to attack you, nor am I here for you, flower." The redhead calmly said, eyes shifting from the young Uchiha to the pinkette.

"Then why are you here?" the former murmured between his gritted teeth.

"To make peace with you." He smiled blankly, "I just couldn't help myself and did all of that on my own, but since I broke my promise not to touch her, I am not completely welcome in the Akatsuki."

 _Serves you right_ , Sakura thought to herself and wondered how she could bear looking at him.

"Do you think we'll just let this incident go?" Itachi countered.

"How do we know you're not going to do it again?"

Without the least bit of excitement, Sasori sighed in a defeated manner.

"No flower is worth having to deal with you." He hissed at the younger son of the Fugaku.

"Get out of here." Was what Sasuke said in return.

Sighing, the redhead proceeded only to be stopped from the call of the roseate, whose eyes were unreadable and whose knees were visibly shaking. Both Sasuke and Naruto felt worried as to what she might've wanted to say, or why she stopped the Akatsuki member in his tracks, but the state she was in, tugged at their heartstrings.

"Do you have anything to say, flower?" Sasori mockingly spoke, judging by her trembling body.

And then –

 _Bam!_

Her fist forcefully swung forward and impacted the redhead's nose so hard he had to take a few steps back, hand placed over the hit area to prevent the blood dripping out of his nostrils to fall.

No one expected that from the Haruno, not even her closest friends whose eyes were watching in pure amazement.

"I'm no flower, bastard!" she yelled, the step she took forward once more threatening that the same thing would happen again. "And if you try anything like that ever again, I'll make sure to break those bones of yours, shannaroo!"

The vivid green orbs that she had were brimming with determination and anger, the tension in the muscles of her fists clearly visible. Sakura slammed her fist into her open hand, brows furrowed.

"S-scary…" Naruto whispered, taking a couple steps back.

Sasuke, on the other hand, wore a very proud smirk.

* * *

Once Sasori was gone, it didn't take long for both of the Uchiha's friends to leave as well and that allowed Sasuke to have some time for himself to think – well, to think while working out a little.

He decided to go for a round of brutal **HIIT** as it was the most likely to rid him of his energy, alongside with the grim feeling in his chest. He had this theory about his nature … that he rather not share with his parents; whatever the case though, he still had to ask the question and hope for if not the best case scenario, at least a decent one – one that he could handle.

40 minutes later, he went in with some stretches to cool himself down. As he sat on the mat, one foot tucked close to his body and the other straight forward, he leant to grab his toes and pressed; the feeling of tension leaving his hamstring was rejuvenating and he was reminded of how he felt when Sakura shared her life energy with him through the contact of their hands.

How would it feel, how strong would the feeling be if they _kissed_ , he wondered but quickly brushed the thought off. Standing himself up, the Uchiha walked to his father's bureau, expecting to see him there.

 _Knock, knock._

"Come in." the voice of Uchiha Fugaku resounded from inside the room.

Sasuke did not hesitate.

"Father. I have a question for you."

Fugaku couldn't help but notice the importance of whatever was bothering his son as his features were sharp and he was definitely troubled.

"You left this matter unaddressed and I can't imagine _you_ leaving out such an important thing."

"What are you talking about?"

Sasuke averted his eyes.

"You went on and on saying how important the virginity of a prey is, but isn't that weird? I mean, can't you," his eyes settled on his father's once more, "do it multiple times? Why is that one time so important?"

 _Because there's no second time_ – that was what the son feared the answer to be.

"What happens _after_ you claim a prey?"

The father sighed and as his expressions darkened, the burden on Sasuke's heart got heavier and heavier.

"That depends on the predator. If the predator is a _saviour_ , the prey will be stripped of their powers and become a normal human. As for the claimer, he won't be able to have sexual contact with or kiss another prey without being poisoned by that. They won't be able to claim another prey, hence they will be stuck with that one for the rest of their lives. If they do get physically close with another victim for an extended period of time, they're sure to die – without doing any harm to the prey."

It all sounded very messed up to Sasuke, but he took in the information without hesitation and processed it thoroughly before asking what would happen if the predator was a _killer_ , alike them.

"If the predator is a _killer_ , on the other hand, the prey will be the one to poison other claimers through prolonged physical contact. It's not as though they're stealing any life energy from them, but it's as though they're poisoned and weakened to the point where sexual contact would surely kill the predator. They still have their powers as preys so they can still give to the one they were claimed by, but only to that person. The _killer_ , however, after claiming his first prey, can freely claim many others."

What his father had just said caused Sasuke a short-lived joy as the thought of being the only one able to touch Sakura without ending up killed by the proximity was not that bad.

"But the prey…" Fugaku closed his eyes, finding it hard even for him to reveal the truth to his son, "Will only live for a short period of time after having sexual contact, approximately 24 hours. They'll die."

For a few moments there, the son's brain could not process what his father had just said.

 _Die?_ He asked himself. As seconds passed by, his face darkened and darkened, despair and anger piling up in his already tense chest. It was the worst case scenario that Sasuke had feared to be true. His body was stuck into place as he did not know of any way to react to that.

After minutes of silence from both parties, the boy gulped and turned on his heel.

"I can't believe you would have gone through with this lie of a life if she hadn't been attacked."

His steps closed the distance between him and the door.

"We deserve our name."

* * *

 _So you're called Sasuke? I like your name!_

Sasuke lay on his bed, literal darkness surrounding him as he stared, or rather blankly looked at the ceiling of his room.

 _Do you want to play together, Sasuke-kun?_

The wind outside blew furiously and it was as though it expressed his inner torment.

 _I know your father really cares about you! Why would he be working so hard for his family if that wasn't true?_

Any person that could have walked into his room would swear that his motionless body was a corpse, and the worn out look on his face reinforced that belief.

 _Thank you for helping me. You're amazing, Sasuke-kun!_

If only he could stop those imagines from running through his mind all over again…

 _That's not true… You're not a bad person… Sasuke-kun, you're precious to me … and to Naruto as well, so please, let us stand with you!_

That annoying girl…

 _I'm in love with you, Sasuke-kun. But I understand. We're best friends, aren't we?_

If only he made a move sooner…

 _Mom taught me how to cook, even if it's basic stuff. I'm so glad you liked the bento, Sasuke-kun!_

Stop.

 _Sasuke-kun!_

And he slammed the wall with his fist with such strength that somewhere in the vicinity of his body, something fell to the door and the sound of glass shattering could be heard. As he got up, his eyes, already accustomed to the darkness, scanned the floor.

A frame was lying on the floor, its glass entirely broken. He didn't need to look any more to know what that was.

" _Happy 15th birthday, Sasuke-kun! This is, well… It's that silly picture of the three of us Naruto's parents took when we went camping last summer. I know you said you didn't like it but I thought it was a great picture!"_

" _Geez, Sakura…"_

" _Oi, teme! I look way cooler there!"_

" _Yeah, Naruto, you looked really_ cool _with those red bumps on your skin – who would have thought you'd be allergic to wild bees?"_

" _Well, at least I didn't get my face sunburnt! Your nose was Rudolf-red, Sakura-chan!"_

" _What was that? Say that once more and I'll make sure your eyes end up purple, shannaroo!"_

Even though he risked cutting his hands with the shreds of glass, Sasuke picked up every last one and cleaned the mess he'd made. He then followed with placing the frame back to where it belonged, on the nightstand, right next to his alarm clock.

The Uchiha sat himself on the bed, elbows on his knees, face buried into his hands. He thought of how not only would he drain that pinkette of her life energy with every touch, but how he'd also eventually be the cause of her death.

It then sank in at last. Sakura was going to die shortly after her 18th birthday even if he claimed her or not. Moreover, if he did, he would be the one taking away her life – how much more despicable could he get?

To be completely honest, he wasn't very fond of her in the beginning, years ago. They were tiny, cry babies in kindergarten when she approached him and befriended him and he wasn't really into that but comforted himself with the thought that he'd only see her there, and then, what do you know? He found out that they were _neighbours_!

But she was more than that, she matured – she grew to genuinely and strongly love him and why, he wouldn't know. They'd grown to be so close, and not just the two of them, but with Naruto as well; they couldn't function without the others. And when she confessed his feelings, it troubled him, but definitely made him happy that he was the only one she had been looking at.

But he had taken so long thinking about whatever it was that kept him from admitting that somewhere along the lines, he began to reciprocate what she felt. And it was way too late. He couldn't go any further, he couldn't bear being the one to take her life and if there was some way to prevent her from disappearing from that world, he would do it.

Sasuke gazed at the picture once again and thought about how unfair life actually was. Like, everyone feels that way and it's common sense that it is how it is, but the reality of that fact pierced him then more than ever.

But maybe … There was something he could do to avoid the tragic end of Haruno Sakura, someone that could not only heal her when injured, but also ensure that she lived if claimed.

* * *

 **Baka = idiot**

 **HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training**

* * *

What do you know guys, this is yet another chapter of _The prey_! I seriously hope you're enjoying the story so far and I know that some things might seem farfetched but hey!

Also, I don't want Sakura to just be a damsel in distress simply because she wasn't given the physical strength that Naruto and Sasuke have as predators, so … Sakura deserves to be strong in any universe c:

Anyways, see you at the end of the next update!

Thanks for liking, following and reviewing the story, it does make me really happy –hugs-

/Ella


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

 **A/N:** I've checked this chapter for grammar mistakes, so I hope it's fine!

* * *

 **Chapter Four:** _ **Christmas spice -**_

„ _ **Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."–**_ **Mitch Albom**

* * *

Sakura's nose was stained red, as were her crimson filled cheeks and she was all beautiful – except she wasn't blushing nor was she happy. The pinkette had been waiting in front of her house for 15 minutes straight, jogging into place or doing small jumps to keep herself warm.

It was the second day in a row that Sasuke was ditching her for their usual morning jog and the day before, when she had called him and he hadn't picked up, she had thought that maybe it had gotten too cold for their session. Never once did she think that he had forgotten because when it came to things he put effort into, he was quite the perfectionist; and he was a morning person, so Uchiha Sasuke could never forget.

When she approached him about it at school, he brushed it off saying that _'he had other things to do'_ but that the following day, they'd be sure to go together. The whole situation had Sakura a bit worried because it was unlike him to suddenly ditch her without warning and then to not have her and Naruto come over, or go to their places, as he had _'assignments to take care of'_.

 _Assignments my ass,_ the Haruno breathed out bundles of white steam and with one last glance towards the Uchiha mansion, walked inside her own house.

 _What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?_

She truly wanted to believe that he had been preparing some sort of surprise for their Christmas date, but something just stirred in her core, causing her to worry.

* * *

For once in a long while, Naruto had woken up before his alarm set off. As promised, his mother had given him a more detailed explanation about the way his power worked, but he wasn't very successful at using it the day before. It didn't bother the blond that much in the beginning, but when his mother did it to him and he felt stripped down of every ounce of power in his body, hence miserably losing to a middle-aged woman, he couldn't get it off his mind.

He was really excited to use it, and not even once did he think he wouldn't be able to master it.

In the back of his commonly known as _'empty'_ head lay some concern for his raven haired best friend, however. Sakura had noted the day before, when they met at lunch, even if briefly so that it wouldn't become a topic worth developing, that Sasuke hadn't showed up for their jogging session. He found it weird and unusual, but didn't ponder on it too much.

When the said Uchiha minimised the number of already few words coming out of his mind during lunch to zero, it did strike Naruto as more than odd. He tried being subtle, but knowing the never delicate Uzumaki's, he ended up being very blunt about it when he asked what was wrong with him, to which he replied _'Mind your own business, loser.'_ – and as bad as it sounded, the tone he said those words with was 100% Sasuke, so the blond didn't concern himself as much with his friend's behaviour.

 _I think I should get up by now_ , he thought to himself and Naruto knew that he would for sure miss the cosiness of his bed the moment he got up.

* * *

The following day, Sakura did not get dressed up and stared out her window to check if the Uchiha _was_ going to present himself and when he did not, she concluded, much to her dismay, that something was affecting him and it caused her pain.

Later that day, after receiving a brief explanation summarized by saying _'Sorry, I'm busy'_ from Sasuke, Sakura decided she would grab a snack then spend some time with the Uzumaki household, as she knew she was always welcome there (that had been the same with the Uchiha's, but, apparently, her beloved one was busy).

A few moments after she knocked on the door, she was warmly led inside by Kushina, whom had a soft spot for her – she went all _'Sakura-chan! We're so glad to have you here-ttebane!"_ but there was that slightly noticeable apologetic aura surrounding both of Naruto's parents; they truly regretted not having told either of them anything about their own selves.

"Sakura-chan?" the blond descended down the stairs leading to the 1st and only floor, where his bedroom was located. "What's up?"

She smiled and excusing herself, skipped to where he was seated and gesticulated that they go upstairs.

"Shout if you need anything! We've got cookies!" Kushina loudly offered, hands placed beside her mouth.

Sitting herself on the chair found next to his desk, the girl took in the sight of her friend's expectedly messy room where you could find empty ramen cups left on the nightstand, comic books _organized_ in whatever order on the shelves and a pair of pyjamas sprawled across his bed.

"Sorry for showing up like this," she tucked a couple of rebel strands of her slightly longer than shoulder level tresses behind her ear, "I just felt lonely."

"Sasuke didn't come today too?"

A nod.

"Geez, what's that guy doing?"

With a scratch on his head that ruffled his spiky hair even more, Naruto made his way to his pc, turning it on.

"I think he wants to be alone, but I don't get why."

The desktop was just as Sakura remembered it – stacked with all sorts of game icons, some that she did know and so many more that she didn't. The Haruno also wondered how her companion was capable of finding anything there as they were randomly placed on the screen.

"It just gets me worried." The pinkette nearly whispered.

The cursor made its way to the browser Naruto usually used and when the search engine came up, he began typing the title of a newly released movie.

"If he does something stupid, I'll punch the hell out of his face."

Sakura lightly chuckled, eyes focused elsewhere than on the screen.

"Want to watch this new horror movie? Konohamaru said it was good."

"What? Naruto," and the girl turned her eyes to meet his, "you know you suck at this."

"I'm fearless. But poor Sakura-chan that can't handle it."

The chuckle the Uzumaki earned in response was honest, and she pinched his cheek.

"As if."

* * *

Sakura's Christmas Eve was spent decorating the house together with her mother whom was slightly more excited than the girl in question about her date with Uchiha Sasuke. Later that day, the Haruno also hung out with the Yamanaka, the latter rambling about how it was important that the former dressed up prettily but not too over-the-top; the pinkette however was unable to concentrate on all that.

That same morning, she sent a message to the Uchiha, asking whether or not their appointment was still on, as he had been rather cold the past few days and when he replied her a short, blank _'yes'_ , she was filled with both joy and concern.

* * *

When he was done with his lunch, Sasuke stood himself up and washed the dishes and pondered on the fact that he hadn't told his best friends about the aftermath of claiming a prey, and for an ever so short moment the thought of having done the same thing his parents had done to him as in being secretive passed his mind, but he pushed it to the farthest ends of his consciousness.

A couple hours later, when the front door shook under the loud, signature knock of Uzumaki Naruto, the raven haired lazily made his way and opened up to him, as well to the pinkette that had tagged along.

"Mikoto-san has done a great job at decorating." Sakura noted, green sparkling in her eyes.

"Hn."

When Sasuke attempted walking them to the living room though, another knock could be heard. Opening the door, he was left surprised as he wasn't in the least expecting to be met with the sight of that man. Reluctantly but prepared to react accordingly, he led him to the living room, where his friends were also present.

"You're…" the words escaped the Haruno's lips as she found the intruder to be familiar.

"Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki."

The man, whose introduction caused anxiousness to pile up in both Naruto's and Sakura's chests, the former gritting his teeth, stood before them as he wielded an unreadable expression. Acknowledging the nervousness that he induced to the others, he shook his head.

"I don't have any intention of attacking you."

None of them was convinced by his statement.

"Neither do the rest of us, for now."

Sasuke's muscles tensed as one step took him closer to the man with spiky orange hair, his arms ready to defend if attacked. Aware of these gestures, Pain did not move an inch; his posture was solid and he struck them as a strong opponent, as implied by the protuberant scent he emanated that both of the boys were now able to sense.

"I said, I am not going to attack you, so there is no need for you to be so hostile."

"Why are you here then?" the Uchiha nearly hissed.

With a glance to the closest armchair, Pain replied.

"May I sit down?" he tested the waters, but despite the thick as smoke hostility that even a drunkard would sense the Akatsuki leader was replied to with a nod of the head.

3 pairs of distrusting orbs closely watched the man take a couple steps and sit himself down. Why they were that alarmed, it was obvious from their last encounter with another member of that organization – and, to be perfectly honest, none of the youngsters was looking for any sort of conflict or dangerous situation.

"Your potential is growing by the day," Pain began, eyes focused on the pinkette and as she bravely held his stare, she also felt as though he could eat her alive at any moment he pleased, "and that does not look good on your side."

Another nod.

"Up until now, us, members of the Akatsuki, have avoided you, at the cost of Uchiha Itachi's blood."

Sasuke felt the turmoil in his chest grow stronger at the mention of his brother whom did what he could to aid him.

"I want to apologize for Sasori's behaviour. He should not have gone ahead and attacked you."

"Cut the chase, it's not like we like having you here." The raven haired interrupted, bangs hiding his darkness filled orbs.

"Alright."

After a few moments of silence during which Pain seemed to be pondering on his next words, Sakura felt deeply unpleasant. She knew she had to toughen herself, and she had strong nerves – she couldn't be the great boxer she was otherwise – so she might as well strive harder to maintain her composure.

"I will be blunt and tell you that we are not your allies. We will not deliberately hunt you, but unless you're claimed soon, I will be the one going after you."

Somehow, the Uchiha could predict what this disgusting man's next line would be, "After having fully checked you at this point in time, you truly are a prize unworthy of being wasted."

Naruto was on the brink of losing his temper, whilst Sakura slightly and unnoticeably bit her lower lip.

"There's not a single one of us that is not thinking of capturing you."

Deciding that it was high time for a closure to the discussion, Sasuke stood himself up and his cocked head pointed to the door.

"You won't lay a finger on her." His tone was filled with confidence and dipped in threat.

The way he defended her caused Sakura's heart to sway, rapid beats pumping blood to her aorta; in that moment, she could catch a glimpse of the Sasuke she had fallen in love with, not the one that had seemingly been avoiding her the past few days.

After a couple of minutes of pointless chatter, the three of them agreed that they did not feel like hanging out together and they needed some time to cool their minds and grasp the situation they were in – even though there had been no attempt on stealing the virginity of their _shinseina hana_ ever since Sasori had tried to, they were now met with an open threat, and an even more dangerous statement; every and each of the predators that were aware of Sakura's existence wanted her, _badly_.

Before walking out the door though, and whilst Naruto was tying the laces of his winter boots, the Haruno turned on her heel and slid a small box into Sasuke's hand and he could read a _'Merry Christmas'_ on her lips.

"But it's not Christmas yet," He replied, taken aback, "and I didn't get you anything."

She only smiled happily, genuine emotion poured into her soft, rose-kissed features.

"Gifts are received on the 24th, right? I hope you'll like it."

Before parting with the Uzumaki, the pinkette grabbed him by the jacket and offered him a nicely wrapped, small box as well.

"Merry Christmas, Naruto!"

And thus she left him outside bewildered, cheeks flushed at her cuteness, and walked inside her own house.

* * *

"Heh," Kushina began teasingly, "Sakura-chan made you a gift with all her heart?"

"Oka-chan!" Naruto spouted, hiding the object from her line of sight.

The present that he had just received consisted of a free-meal ticket to his favourite ramen shop in the entire world (or what felt like _the entire world_ to him) and a hand-crafted yet detailed with precision mini versions of themselves, an angry looking Sasuke seemingly blocking a hit from his own miniature self, that had a noodle drip out of his mouth and he had that goofy expression that said _'I'll beat the hell out of you, just you watch!'_ , whilst the little Sakura had her arms crossed on her chest and that scary look on her face.

For some reason, Naruto found the gift to be amazing – not only in how much effort must have been put into it, but in the meaning of it as well. He felt cherished, and he knew that he had the best best friends in the entire world.

* * *

Sakura had arrived 5 minutes early for their date at the station and still she had thought that maybe she was late, as the Uchiha had it in him to be more than punctual. So, when she stared disheartened at the huge clock that stated it was 34 minutes into their appointment, she concluded that he was _not_ going to show up.

As you might have guessed, she had already dialled his number twice, but to no avail; the pinkette was unable to reach his phone and when she was led directly to voice mail, her voice broke and for a few seconds her train of thought was lost as she didn't know what to say, but the Haruno eventually settled for an _'I'm waiting for you'_.

Already sat on a bench that was no longer freezing cold, she lifted her knees and cradled them on her chest, face buried onto her thighs. Sakura knew he wouldn't show up and knew that she should have been heading home by then, but the girl did not have the heart to do it. All of these thoughts were harassing her mind, refusing to allow her a break from wondering what was going on with Uchiha Sasuke – _he_ asked her out, after all the years they'd known each other and grown close, and … he had been avoiding her the past few days, that much she figured out. What was tormenting him, what was keeping him away?

And if he didn't want to do it in the end, why not cancel it? Why turn off your phone instead of at least answer it and let her know she shouldn't be sitting on that bench, physically folded into herself, when it was _Christmas_ and…

And Haruno Sakura wanted to cry so badly and she knew that the moment the despair would wear off, she would as well weep, but it was the activity of her sympathetic nervous system that didn't allow her to cry during that stressful amount of time.

What struck her the hardest was that he had allowed her to be _alone_ , in an usually _empty_ train station after the encounter they had with the head of the Akatsuki just the day before. His words were engraved in her mind - ' _There's not a single one of us that is not thinking of capturing you'._

Sakura thought to herself that she would fight relentlessly to protect her own self but, ultimately, if her opponents were as many as the Akatsuki's claimed to be, she'd be taken down eventually and it scared her. She would rather commit suicide than succumb to their gross desires, but why would Sasuke go as far as verbally fighting Pein – _'You won't lay a finger on her.'_ he said and his lips curved into a smirk as though to warn him.

"Sakura-chan?" a gentle voice cut through her disarrayed thoughts and, at the same time, she was met with the increasingly warm feeling of a hand placed on her numb from the cold shoulder.

The Haruno lifted her head and locked her eyes into a pair of cerulean orbs that sparkled with worry.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" she pushed her feet back on the ground, face reddened by the stingingly cold air and Sakura noted that it had gotten darker outside; how long had she been spacing out for?

"I could ask you the same thing-ttebayo! Where's Sasuke?"

The pinkette broke the eye contact she had established with him to check the time on her phone. As she did so, she muttered a _'he's not here'._

"What do you mean, _he's not here_?"

An hour had nearly passed and she checked thoroughly for any texts, missed calls, but none were found. The roseate did not feel like delving too much into how sad she was, so she simply stood herself up and briefly explained that her date hadn't shown up.

Naruto was immediately angered by the revelation, and brows furrowed, spouted a loud _'bastard'_. Grabbing the hand of the girl next to him, the blond furiously walked away from the bench she had sat on.

"Naruto? Where are we going?" her voice was still dry, and she was still sore, but compelled to the pressure he was applying when pulling her and walked alongside him.

"It's _Christmas_ , damn it! You should be having fun, Sakura-chan!" despite his tone still depicting anger, there was a softness to it that the Haruno knew so well, his own kindness.

And when he stopped in his tracks, a little confused, and asked where the nearest café that she liked was, Sakura felt glad that he had found her, be it the works of fate or not.

50 metres behind the bench Naruto found the pinkette on, someone cringed at the sight of the two leaving, _apparently_ holding hands. Convincing himself that he had done the right thing a few times, Uchiha Sasuke turned on his heel and began walking home.

* * *

Living in the same house for almost 18 years, Uchiha Itachi had long since gotten used to his brother's throws-of-fits, but he still felt that it was his duty to try and calm the raging beast. So, when he safely asked what was wrong, he didn't expect the target of his concern to loudly close the book he apparently was trying to read and glare at him.

"It's none of your business." He spat himself at the older. "But, if you want to be useful, explain something to me."

Itachi nodded in agreement and asked what it was that he wanted to know.

"I understand that if we claim preys," and Sasuke paused, mouth lightly drier than normal, "they die, but what I don't understand is, why does this happen?"

For a couple of seconds, the older brother averted his gaze in an attempt to form a proper answer.

"It's because we steal most of their life energy. They will be left with even less chakra than a normal human, and since their bodies are used to above normal amounts of it, they cannot cope with the loss of it – like haemorrhages. If you lose too much blood, you'll die within a rather short amount of time."

The expression on Sasuke's face showed that the answer he received was the theory he had made up in his head as well, and he looked the littlest bit hopeless there, as the explanation Itachi had just given him appeared as bulletproof, without any means of escaping the worst possible ending.

The older brother knew that it might have been best not to delve in deeper with his explanation, but ultimately convinced himself that it would have been simply fair for him to lay out all the information.

"But their corpses don't look as though they died like any other human would. Their bodies look devoid of liquid, dry and wrinkled, and ghostly."

* * *

"I'm not losing against you-ttebayo!"

Loud yells, as though the blond was battling some individual, could be heard from the most popular shooter game in the arcade. The two opponents were seated and had two levers that you could pull and rotate around, and on the big screen that was split in half for the two players were displayed several targets, either moving or still, and, as expected, whoever shot down more of them would be declared winner.

"I'm definitely kicking your ass!" Sakura replied with sheer determination and she was not far behind in terms of score.

Nearly a minute later, the Haruno ended up winning the game with 24 to 22, so they were really close. They shook their hands as though to say it had been a great match, but eventually burst into laughter as they left the arcade.

On the way home, emerald orbs unconsciously began focusing on her moving feet and she felt soothed.

"Naruto," he looked at her from the corner of his eye, "thank you. You made my day."

He only grinned in response and bumped his chest with his fist.

"I'm a great hero, aren't I, Sakura-chan?"

She nodded, "And you're also a gentleman."

He stopped in his tracks and offered her a surprised look, as his fist dropped a tad bit. The pinkette sighed amusedly, and flipped her hand.

"Did you think I wouldn't figure out that you let me win that last game?" she closed the gap between them and pulled him close into an honest hug, and as she let go, she once again thanked him.

"You're a really great guy, Naruto."

The now joyful glimmer in her vivid orbs caused heat to well up in his cheeks and he was truly thankful to the cold of the evening, as his face had already been red from it.

However, the Uzumaki showed his most earnest grin and as he resumed his walk, hands onto the nape of his neck he began bragging about the superhero that he claimed he was.

* * *

The clock had just hit 9.30 PM and Sasuke considered that hour appropriate to turn on his phone. When he did, he was notified of the missed calls from Sakura, as well as the voice message she had left when her last call was cut off.

He could hear the wind blowing as he listened to the recording on his phone, and now and then he could also make the sound of her steps as she was probably heading for that bench he had watched her sit on, and then, piercing his chest, her voice also came through.

" _Sasuke-kun, I… I'm waiting for you."_ her voice was dry and he couldn't distinguish whether she was angry or distressed.

A few minutes later, his phone rang. When he checked the name displayed on the screen and realised it was Sakura that was calling, the Uchiha felt this urge to throw his phone out the window because what do you tell a girl you had asked on a date and then stood her up, without having the decency to answer her calls?

But he answered anyway.

"Hey," her tone sounded awkward, "it's me." Like he didn't know already.

He massaged his closed eyes.

"Are you there?" the girl checked.

"Aa."

Sasuke swore he could hear her grit her teeth on the other side of the call, and he really wanted to hang up.

"Why didn't you come today?" and despite everything, she was still calm.

"I had other things to do."

He knew that if she wasn't angry, she would definitely be worried.

"Like what? If there's a chance that something is bothering you, that this sudden turn of events is getting the best of you, Sasuke-kun, I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me. I'll be waiting for you."

" _I'm waiting for you."_

 _Shut up_ , he thought, _shut up before I say something irrational._

"I don't want to push you. I'm really sorry that I'm burdening you with my vulnerability… I swear I'm doing my best to protect myself."

 _You're so annoying_ , he gritted his teeth, _don't you know it's the other way around?_

And then her tone lightened a little bit and the Uchiha could hear her breathing out before she chuckled.

"But still, an apology would be appreciated."

 _I'm sorry_ , he mentally excused himself, whether it was for ditching her or for what he was going to say, he wasn't sure.

"I don't get why I should apologize. I don't have time for you or Naruto now."

And he hung up.

* * *

On the other end of the line, standing in front of her window hurt and with the phone stuck into her numb hand beside her ear, Sakura felt as though she didn't understand what had just happened. It was not like she expected him to be a prince or something, because she knew perfectly well he wasn't one, but she _did_ expect an apology, even if it was a short _'I'm sorry'_ and she also expected him to open up a little bit, he always did. At some point, he would always talk to her even if briefly about what was bothering him.

Sakura dismissed the thought of getting a snack because she was no longer hungry.

* * *

Sasuke knew perfectly well what idiot was throwing pebbles at his window at nearly midnight, but he felt too tired to answer him or his calls. The hits on the glass persisted, even multiplied to the point where the Uchiha had gotten so annoyed that he just ripped the window open and shouted out to the blond boy standing down there.

"What the hell do you want?"

The raven haired could read his friend's expression and it didn't sit well with him how much disappointment was found on his face. The Uzumaki pointed to the door angrily and as his arms crossed on his chest, Sasuke knew he couldn't get rid of him.

A couple minutes later, after opening the door and letting his friend in, the two of them were found in the kitchen and Naruto seemed like he wasn't going to take his muffler off.

"You know what I'm going to ask you." The tone in his voice was truly rough.

The Uchiha only averted his gaze as though to say he had nothing to do with the situation.

 _Bad_ decision.

Sasuke didn't feel the pain from the punch he'd just received at first and didn't quite comprehend what had just gone down, but when he found himself grabbed by the collar by an infuriated Uzumaki Naruto, the reality sank in.

"Stop acting like this, teme!" the blond yelled and it didn't even matter if he managed to wake the whole Uchiha household up.

"I don't get what you're doing, but do you need me to smack some sense into you?!"

Already worn off emotionally, Sasuke freed himself and ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know what you mean, nothing's wrong with me." It took him almost everything he had to remain calm.

Naruto gritted his teeth and judging by how tight he was clenching his fists you would think his bones would crack. He failed to understand what was wrong with his best friend and he was also disturbed by the way he had treated his promise with the pinkette.

"She waited for you there, for an hour! And you didn't even pick up?!"

Sasuke clicked his tongue.

"She could've frozen there, you scumbag! And you say there's nothing wrong with you?!"

The blond dashed forward and attempted a second hit that was, however, blocked entirely by Sasuke's hand as he caught his fist. While Naruto struggled to free his hand, he couldn't help but lock his eyes onto his friend's and even in the dim light of the kitchen, the Uzumaki was able to notice his irises slowly shifting colour, from their usual pitch black to a fierce red.

The raven haired did not attack his friend however, but pushed him away from himself.

"Leave me alone." His tone was rough and imposing, the words steadily coming out of his mouth.

Naruto gulped defeated and as he walked to the door, felt compelled to say one last thing.

"Sakura-chan is entirely yours. But unless you come back to your senses, there's no way in hell I'll let you have her."

 _Usuratonkachi._

"That's none of my concern."

* * *

He didn't open the present he had got from her. For some reason, Sasuke felt that he shouldn't – not to disregard her, but to prevent his resolve from wavering even the slightest bit. However, he eventually lost to the temptation and gently, or as gently as he could, unwrapped the box and opened it.

Inside the fairly small cardboard box lay a small wooden charm with the word **chikara** engraved in it, and the way it was constructed didn't give away the fact that it had been made by a girl's hands. It stirred the insides of his chest as he knew why she'd done that.

" _Sasuke-kun, look what I got!" the tiny figure of Haruno Sakura could be spotted as she ran excitedly to show her friend what her mother had given her._

 _His eyes fell on the tiny object and he knew what it was, but let her explain anyway._

" _You know, this is a good-luck charm mom made me! It's really cool and it even says 'kindness' on it." She trailed off as her chubby little fingers pressed themselves on the surface of the item._

 _Despite feeling some sort of jealousy because of how openly caring the girl's parents were to her, he made a gesture with his hand indicating that he wanted to look closely at her charm. Sakura handed it to him and thought that the focused look in his eyes was cute, whatever it could mean._

" _How do you know what it says on it?" his index pointed towards the signs engraved on it._

 _She smiled and clapped her hands once before adopting a teacher-like pose._

" _Mom told me what she wrote on it! And she said that 'kindness' meant being good to people, being a good person. I want to be like that."_

 _Sasuke's lips betrayed him for a moment as a smile she would've thought as cute as well crept on his face, but he kept his composure._

" _Does your mother make such things too, Sasuke-kun?"_

 _Even at that young age Sakura was capable of feeling the regret that question left in her chest as his expression changed to a visible sadness. She, by association, began feeling sad as well and after moments of silence, the roseate seemed to recall that Uchiha Sasuke's parents were most of the time busy._

" _What word would you choose?" she asked once more._

 _Leaving behind any negative feeling as easily as any child would, the boy began contemplating on the question, and by contemplating I mean whatever a child does when they think hard about something, like really hard. His thoughtful expression with his brows deeply furrowed would have been a sight to see._

" _Power, I guess."_

" _That sounds cool too, Sasuke-kun. I feel like you'd be a powerful person!"_

 _His features softened at the thought._ Powerful, _he wondered._

" _Maybe if I learn how to spell that, I'll make you one someday!"_

 _And pulling him along by the hand, Sakura walked to the swings and challenged him to a who-can-swing-higher-wins contest._

Sasuke's face was buried in his hands in frustration, hence leading him to place the item back into the box and deep within one of the drawers of his desk.

* * *

 **Chikara = power**

* * *

No, Sasuke, please don't do this!

Don't you know you're just –

Ah, hey guys! I didn't notice you there, but I'm glad you are; it means you've read the chapter and I really thank you for that and hope you enjoyed it and the story thus far!

As expected … the plot thickens once again, ha ha … Honestly, if I keep adding stuff I wonder how am I going to solve everything?

Please bear with me as we see how this story unfolds!

Also, special thanks to a little shiny star that has helped me decide on a quote for this chapter!

/Ella


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five: The strings of synchronization**

„ _ **There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be..."–**_ **John Lennon**

* * *

Her fingers traced through silky, unique pink-coloured tresses as the flower-like hairpiece was clipped into her hair, matching her cute updo. Wearing a fluid, body-enhancing and ankle long yukata, adorned in fifty shades of roses and blushing beiges, the Haruno scanned her reflection thoroughly, and even the mirror smiled approvingly.

Descending stairs was truly a bother, and for once in her life, Sakura sympathized with the geishas that once enchanted men with their ever so womanly and elegant figures, however walking at snail like speed. In the kitchen, the girl was met with the sight of her mom browsing through a random middle-age-appropriate magazine that she had no interest in whatsoever.

"Mom," the girl carefully took a couple more steps towards the exit of the house, "I'm off."

At the sound of her only daughter's voice, the woman shot up and as her gaze fell onto her figure of a distant, yet ever youthful, the epitome of a beautiful goddess, Mebuki couldn't help the hand that made its way to her mouth in pride and rejoiced at seeing her child bloom into such a flower. Then, brows furrowed, she fervently searched around the room.

"Mom?"

The elder flipped her hand as to dismiss any attempt of stopping her mid-action.

"I need to take a photo of you!" she nearly chirped in excitement, and when she did find the camera, not a second passed before her hands grasped it firmly.

"You're exaggerating." Sakura chuckled, but submitted to the wish of her mother.

Mebuki's index finger landed fiercely on the button that triggered a continuous shutter sound and it caused the pinkette to eventually sigh and lose her interest in being so compliant; she was going to be late!

"That's enough, Naruto and the others are waiting for me."

Sakura attempted tapping her foot in annoyance, but due to her outfit she found it to be rather difficult and risky – especially with her neatly done hair. The mother, however, let out a teasing _'oh'_ , before her free hand covered her smirk.

"So, are you already over the cute Uchiha?" and she drew closer to her child, "Should I prepare myself to call Naruto-kun my son-in-law?"

The daughter was fully aware that her beloved mother meant no harm with her words, but it still struck a nerve and the pinkette, whilst contemplating on her past actions, felt guilt tripped and her heart tugged strongly underneath her skin.

"That's not funny, mom." Sakura smiled amusedly, the only expression she could muster to hide her torment before unwaveringly heading to the door.

Her steps were steady and her breath rhythmical, but her eyes gave out a shiny aura, but no, she wasn't going to cry; she was just purely sad. Christmas was the last she'd seen of Uchiha Sasuke. Well, apart from fancy meeting him while going to the convenience store and making small talk that she was ashamed of and spotting him when she was taking out the trash, habitual things.

The roseate found some sort of resolution after having her body unable to turn itself off on Christmas night, right after Naruto had brought her back home. Her beloved was tormented by whatever thing and he wasn't letting her in; she did not want to assume the worst, but with an objective overview of the situation, anyone would've concluded that he was _shutting_ her out, let alone avoid opening up.

So, what could she do? She would wait. Sakura prided herself with Sasuke's trust in her presence, in how she always strived to be someone dependable, a pillar of support for him; therefore, she would wait, she would wait for him to snap out of that phase and allow her that special place beside him again.

Also, from what she'd heard from Naruto, whom she'd also been spending her days with apart for few times when she was out with the Yamanaka, Sasuke and the Uzumaki had some sort of fight that she knew nothing about. Well, she didn't exactly _hear_ it from the blond, but it was so easy to notice, it was so easy to see; Naruto was acting weird whenever Sasuke was brought into discussion and she did try prying into it once, only to receive _'Teme's just being antisocial is all'_ as response.

And she felt guilty, guilt tangling her ration around unforgiving emotions because, in her choice of patience she offered her almost whole attention to Naruto alone, and it did not feel right whatsoever.

And now she was supposed to go on her first visit to the shrine in the new year with a group of friends in which Naruto, Ino and her asset, the ever so peculiar Sai, Akimichi Chouji (who failed to get the lazy Nara Shikamaru to tag along) and Inuzuka Kiba could be found. For a moment there, Sakura pondered on the possible reason Hinata hadn't accepted their invitation to join them as well, but the Haruno let it slide.

She had some pretty nasty inner conflict to deal with. The girl _did_ ask Uchiha Sasuke to join them and she tried being persistent without being annoying but you cannot have water without the explosion-inducing hydrogen, nor can fire burn without our vital oxygen. As expected, he refused and Sakura could swear she had spotted his usual yet rare softness there for a second as he muttered a _'No, thanks'_ , but maybe she was mistaken.

Her palms slid on her porcelain face and she stood there, back touching the door, on the outside of the Haruno residence.

 _I'm just going to … make sure,_ she reasoned with herself, with the fraction of her mind that screamed she was already deadly late and maybe her friends wouldn't deserve to wait for her this much to be more accurate. But, she refused.

The pinkette used the motion range the beautiful yukata allowed to its fullest until she was standing across the street, hand trembling before knocking on the door of the Uchiha sloppily. She could hear some faint noise in response and her hopes escalated at the speed of sound when the material creaked under the pressure someone applied to the doorknob on the inside and she was growing more restless, until she was met with the sight of Uchiha Itachi.

"Sakura."

She pulled a smile, but she couldn't wipe away the I-wasn't-looking-for-you look that was plastered on her face.

"Hello, Itachi-san?"

He smiled kindly, slightly amused also, in response.

"You're looking for Sasuke, aren't you?"

"That's right. Can you call him please?"

The raven haired scanned her appearance and the cup of tea he was holding indicated that he had been allowing himself some rest for the New Year's Eve and his lips curved approvingly before he complimented her. The girl smiled politely.

"Don't you want to come in?"

She shook her hand and frowned slightly, "Ah, no, people are waiting for me. I just wanted to ask Sasuke-kun to tag along."

 _There it is_ , Sakura found her mind noticing when Itachi's features transfigured into a rather conflicted, secretive look that was, indeed, much similar to the one Sasuke wore most of the time.

"But maybe he wouldn't want to and then I should go." Her mouth took the lead before ration made it clear that she was cowering.

The man, however, changed expressions in an instant and gesticulated that she waited. And she did, stared into the empty hallway of the Uchiha mansion before Itachi returned, with an intrigued little brother behind him – a little brother that, as soon as he became aware of her presence, stopped in his tracks and most likely cursed.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun." She smiled.

His head sank as his fingers massaged the bridge of his noble-like nose, kohl coloured bangs framing his face in a breathtaking way.

"You bastard," he let out with an ironical laugh, "You said a special package had arrived for me."

Sakura felt it was obvious that the words weren't directed at her, but at his brother, who offered her a mischievous smile, accomplice-like.

"But isn't this a pretty special package too, Sasuke?"

As the older Uchiha joked, the girl noted that as much as she wanted her beloved to look at her, not even to compliment her, but just to make fleeting eye contact, that was not the case.

"I'm not coming tonight, Sakura." He said at last, his eyes that had just been glaring into the other pair of charcoal orbs present there falling to hers.

"Sasuke, don't be rude. Are you going to refuse such a beautiful young lady, on New Year's Eve as well?"

A tongue was clicked.

"What if something happens to her, isn't it your duty to escort her?"

Sakura let herself grow more hopeful when Sasuke sighed and turned on his heel, taking few steps to grab the nearest coat.

"Let's go." He blankly said, rapidly passing her and down the street he went.

The girl, freed from her torment as he was there, and even if constricted by the circumstances, he agreed to join her and the rest of the group on the shrine visit.

It was, however, a little hard to keep up with him, physically. The clothing that framed her body so beautifully also restricted her motion ranges and she found it very hard to keep up with his speed.

"Sasuke-kun, slow down a bit, please."

He paused for a moment and looked back at her and it all seemed as though he had just scolded himself. He blinked deeply as he waited for her and adjusted his pace to hers.

"Thanks." The girl smiled.

He nodded, and Sasuke wondered for how long he'd be able to go along with the situation; he wasn't a particularly hormonal teenager, but he had to note somewhere deep in his forbidden-to-affection mind that she, indeed, looked _pretty_.

And she was still there, walking beside him in that happily manner of hers and she commenced talking about little unimportant things, such as how she had fought with Ino about the Yamanaka's new haircut, or how Naruto and her tried to bake some sort of cookies for New Years but failed miserably, or how she earned herself a large bruise when she slipped and fell on the mess they'd made.

Sakura, he knew, was putting effort into lightening the atmosphere to make him feel that that night, just for that night, he could let go of whatever sadness there was that was tiring him, to make him feel that he hadn't ditched her on Christmas, that nothing actually had happened on Christmas…

And Sasuke cursed himself; the frown he was wearing actually looked quite funny while the pinkette was going on about how she'd end up being strangled by the Yamanaka. His plan, the one that would make her give up on him, wasn't giving any apparent results and he was a perseverant kind of guy; he would see his goals materialize before those dark orbs of his, but the Uchiha didn't quite have the patience, nor the time, to wait until this beautiful, unwavering being next to him would just spout a _'Screw you'_.

Then, her phone rang and she chaotically looked for in it her purse, he could tell – they weren't running late, they were _ages_ late. Sasuke couldn't deny that he felt for the fact that she went out of her way to get him; and he chuckled ever so lightly, his eyes closed, when he heard the loud gorilla-like yell of Yamanaka Ino as she scolded and scolded her friend for making them wait, and he also heard her mention something about Chouji wanting to break into some convenience store out of hunger, but it was none of his business.

* * *

As expected, Naruto was definitely quarrelling with Inuzuka Kiba, as they'd always been going on about who was stronger than who and whatnot; their childish bickering struck the last nerve left unharmed in Yamanaka Ino's brain as she was clothed in a dark purple, almost berry coloured yukata that suited her curvy edges and the light lilac flower pattern contrasted with her pale gold hair, sky blue eyes; her face was adorned with youthful makeup that offered her light skin glow and she was wasting her beauty there, next to her boyfriend and all those idiots, instead of heading to the shrine where there would be people to admire her.

 _I'm on my way, I promise!_ Sakura had told her over the phone and the girl sighed before turning to her beloved and earning herself an embrace, so as to keep her warm.

Ino was worried about her friend; she'd known the Haruno for quite some time and so she was capable of telling when something was wrong and something was definitely wrong, though she could not figure out exactly what.

* * *

"We are really running late," she panted as she was struggling to skip or run one way or another, and his pace increased accordingly to match hers. They were almost there.

"Maybe we should take a shortcut…" her voice trailed off and the girl stopped in her tracks, eyes shining a beautiful dark emerald under the moonlight; he pondered on her suggestion, but felt reluctant about accepting it.

"Let's take the alleyway on the left, it's just 5 minutes away if we go that way."

Without waiting for his answer on the matter, the pinkette turned and sprung on the empty alley and she did not feel extremely good about it, but she felt safe; she wasn't alone, nor was she with just anyone, Sasuke's presence was enough for her.

He complied to her lead at last and followed her closely as they strolled down the dark, empty street. His breathes came out in nearly opaque bundles of steam, and he eyed his watch – 11.32 PM.

His body became alert; he felt his senses awaken for no apparent reason and he kept himself as close as possible to the Haruno, looking left and right. They were alone, so why was he feeling like that?

A few more steps and his brain began processing the details of their surroundings – they were alone, indeed, but the air was … was stinging his skin but there was no wind, there was not a single thing moving apart from them. Sasuke felt as though he was watched and it sent shivers down his spine.

"Sakura."

The girl paused momentarily, curious as to why he suddenly stopped her, hand tightly gripping her forearm. Some sort of anxiety was embedded in her core and she waited for him to tell her everything, anything.

"Let's run." His words came out in a strong, commanding tone and without wasting any time, his feet sprung forwards and he was dragging her but – but she couldn't keep up.

Sasuke became even more alert, and instinct claimed his mind – Haruno Sakura was lifted into his strong arms and his hold was precise, tight, and _protective_. The boy ran with newfound speed and it startled her so much that her heart throbbed painfully in her chest.

"Sasuke-kun?" her muffled words became barely audible against his chest.

But it was only for a moment that she could channel her attention towards him, as something sprung towards him and as best as he tried to avoid the impact, the Uchiha still crashed and fell to the ground, arms still preventing her from being touched.

Sakura did not feel the impact as the two of them landed on the freezing cold street, but she reacted unexpectedly fast and as she lifted herself finding support in the knees, her hand helped her saviour up as well and she scanned their surroundings.

"Sasuke-kun…" despite her alarmed tone, her muscles did not flinch and her eyes were sharp, senses awakening – just then she felt the way the air blew around them, without any apparent wind.

"Are we?" the pinkette cut her words short, hand reaching for the hairpiece that held her beautiful tresses and forcefully pulled it out, shoving it into her purse. The girl followed through and slightly loosened her kimono, allowing herself a little more space to move.

"Yeah." He replied, _yeah, we're being attacked._

The dark was in no way making things easier for them, in fact, it concealed whoever was there perfectly. As to have fewer openings, the two of them let their backs collide and their bodies were ready to contract any muscle at any time. Sasuke did not feel that he should not be taking any risks, furthermore resorting to the use of his special ability, the _sharingan_.

Few moments later, his eyes were able to cut through the dark and he could clearly see two silhouettes becoming clearer and clearer from behind the corner they were about to pass. Having watched his every move, Sakura offered him the hairpiece that she had been wearing, as she concluded that it might be of use due to its rather sharp pin.

"How many?" she asked, and her newfound clear mind surprised him.

"Two of them, a man and a woman."

Her head turned towards the spot his orbs had fallen on and she could barely make out someone being there.

"What do we do?" she whispered.

But it was too late to be answered – in those few seconds the manly silhouette began running towards the two of them and Sasuke successfully blocked his roundhouse kick; what would you expect from the top judo club member, whom had won several contests before?

The man had spiky short, chocolate coloured hair and he looked rather his age. His moves were sloppy, but fast and strong and the Uchiha found it very useful that the _sharingan_ was able to predict his movements, even if by a mere second, or two.

While avoiding his attacks, preventing him from getting in any way nearer to Sakura, the raven haired could spot some sort of peculiar red tattoos on his opponent's face. What was even weirder was that the woman had been standing still in her spot, and it did not appeal to Sasuke.

 _What're you scheming,_ he wondered as his fist furiously caught the attacker off-guard, causing him to back away a couple steps, hands on his stomach.

Sakura, whom had been alert, ready to jump in at any moment, watched and licked her dry lips.

"Who are you?" her eyes had adapted to the dark and she could now distinguish the silhouette of the woman before her eyes, and her words cut through the new silence.

Both the Uchiha and the Haruno could swear that the response they earned was a mocking chuckle, and the woman set herself in motion, even if by taking slow steps.

Apparently, the man still hadn't fully recovered from the punch he'd received, and Sakura did not feel terrified by the inhuman strength that Sasuke possessed, it rather caused her to feel some sort of pride deep in her now clouded by battle strategies and possible outcomes mind.

"So he takes you down in _one_ punch, eh, Kankurou?"

The woman became more visible, and as for Sasuke, who was capable of seeing her as though in daylight, he found her face familiar, her partner's as well. He just couldn't put his finger on it. The name that Sakura had heard sparkled in her brain and she fought to remember why that name was familiar to her.

As the woman became entirely visible and distinguishable to her, revelatory words escaped her mouth, "The transfer students."

The Uchiha eyed her questioningly momentarily before focusing his entire attention on the other two. Sakura exhaled a larger amount of air, purposefully warm, and was not surprised in the least to see that it wasn't dissipating. It rather circled around her as though there was some sort of halo covering her.

"The transfer students from Suna, third-years. Kankurou and Temari, I assume?"

The girl smirked and the fan she was using seemed ridiculous, seeing that the already stingily cold weather could earn you a cold, even without ventilating yourself. Her dirty blond hair was tied in four spiky, short tails and she wore a dangerous expression.

"I heard you were the smartest in your year." She responded somehow mockingly, dark, lifeless green orbs fixated on vivid, furious emeralds.

"So you figured it out already?"

Sakura felt her mouth dry and she scanned her surroundings, and the two of them so that she had a clearer perspective, so that she could come up with some strategy.

"This fan, and the air around you. I control it." Temari spoke.

Sasuke sneered and readied his fists for a future collision with either of the two. His eyes sharp, he could tell that the two were, indeed, predators, and much worse, _killers_. Their auras were a distinguishable black, but it was more transparent than his, as well as his family's.

"That's how you knew where we were, and that we would turn left on this street. You actually hoped we would."

The smirk on Temari's face was deeply engraved there, and as her brows furrowed, Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Her hands scratched her neck, as though trying to liberate it from some sort of aggression and her mouth burst open, gasping for air.

The Uchiha did not need more than a second to comprehend the gravity of the situation, and slamming himself onto the pinkette, dragged behind the nearest bench, where she collapsed to her knees, chocking violently.

"Smart move." The blond offered, but as she closed her fan, hand falling angrily to her side, she readied herself for battle.

 _She controls the air around, but she has limits_ , the Haruno concluded as she stood herself up, and watched bewildered as, in less than a couple of moments, the raven haired reached the girl that had been standing at least 20 metres away, and thus they engaged in battle. Unlike Kankurou's moves, hers were much smoother.

In a flash, the said boy slammed his body into her own, knocking her down, but proceeding to grab her wrist so tight that she felt it fill with pain and to raise her, having her swing by it. She gritted her teeth and furiously raised her foot in a pinpointed kick that caused her yukata to shatter on the side from the sudden pressure, but, as unfortunate as it was, he rewarded her with a punch in the stomach. She groaned in pain and struggled to free herself.

Sasuke had been putting effort into maintaining rapid motions of his body, so that the blond wouldn't be able to make use of her ability as both he and Sakura found the boundaries of it – distance, obstacles and motion. It apparently required a lot of concentration and energy for her to be able to specifically use it.

However, it seemed she had no intention to; her moves were smooth and despite having been hit a couple times even if lightly, by the Uchiha, she could hold her own. The battle was disrupted when the scream of the Haruno startled him, alarming his senses.

As he turned to look in her direction, he caught sight of a terrifying scene – Kankurou had been holding her so tightly from the wrist that it had turned purplish, but that was not it; with a small knife, he slit her other wrist and licked the dripping blood.

Desperately wanting to react, Sasuke turned on his heel, but the sudden move towards him caused a half rotation on his core and considering how off-guard he was caught, the Uchiha found himself in the middle of a stabbing process, but thanks to his polished speed of reaction, the blond only managed to cut through his clothes, knife also cutting through the skin of his chest.

It burnt unimaginably and he choked, but as Sakura's before muffled, now clear cries of pain and struggle pinched his ears, Sasuke's inner torment reached the critical point and decisively pushed past it – his moves became monster-like and in the instant that his hand gripped ever so tightly on Temari's chest, he slammed her body onto the ground, causing blood to spill out of her trembling mouth, eyes abnormally widened by the shock.

The loud sounds that the Uchiha's actions caused startled Kankurou beyond point and when he was met with the sight of his partner so severely injured, he shot towards Sasuke's body which was surely being drained of energy due to the deep cut on his chest that had obviously been bleeding.

Sakura fell with a thud, but ignored the burning pain in her momentarily useless wrist and sloppily stood herself up, looking for some way of aiding her guardian, whom was struggling to take down the transfer student, but it did not seem as though he was capable of actually achieving that.

The Haruno stuttered in her steps, and she furiously ripped her yukata short, the new length reaching slightly above her knees before grabbing the knife that Temari was holding, weapon used to injure Sasuke. The girl sprinted forward with all her might, and before Kankurou was able to defend himself, she slammed herself onto his back, blade penetrating the bottom left area, and as he was truly weakened by such a fierce pain, his opponent was given the chance to land a final blow, causing him to collapse.

Sasuke's knees trembled and Sakura was there, anticipating his fall and let his forehead crash onto her shoulder exhaustingly. She held him, allowed the boy to catch a few breaths as there was no sign of any other opponent.

Caressing the back of his neck, and up into his spiky hair, the pinkette asked that he checked the perimeter with his _sharingan_ , just to make sure.

"C…clear." He murmured.

The girl searched his pockets and was immensely thankful that she found his phone, and it was still working. Her purse had long since fallen near the bench where Kankurou slit her wrist, and with Sasuke's arm crossed overtop her shoulder to support his weakened body, she dialled Itachi's number.

Briefly explaining the situation and asking that he picked them up at the main road, the girl bent to grab her distressed purse and, sustaining her beloved as before, compelled him to walk a few metres so that they exit the empty if not for the two collapsed predators alley.

* * *

"I can't believe she ditched me like this!" Ino yelled, attempting yet another call on Sakura's phone.

Naruto's hands were deep into his pockets and he was frowning; it wasn't like his best friend to simply not show up, and much to his dismay, the last time that happened she was nearly raped by a dement redheaded predator. Breathing in as deeply as his lungs allowed him to, the blond prayed that she was safe.

"Maybe you should calm down," Sai began softly, caressing his girlfriend's shoulder, "What if ugly couldn't make it because of a serious reason?"

At the sound of this person's nickname for his beloved pinkette, Naruto hissed, and began bickering with the overly pale classmate.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes shot open and the numbness that rested over his body dissipated into scorching pain. He scanned his surroundings and the realisation came to him with a gulp. He was in his room, lying on his bed, and a startled Sakura was looking at him with worried, sparkly grass green eyes. The girl was sitting on her knees next to his bed, and she scanned him.

"You're awake…" she trailed off.

The Uchiha noted that her eyes were also bloodshot, most likely from crying her eyeballs out, her hair was messily tied into a ponytail and she was wearing a large T-shirt of his, over some of his old sweatpants that didn't fit him anymore. Inevitably, her wrist came into his line of sight, and the aftermath of shock hit him, and he remembered the events that transpired perhaps not too long ago.

"Are you alright?" his mouth let out, kohl irises fixed on her wrist as his hand turned her arm, exposing white bandages plastered on her fair skin.

The girl sighed tired, but forced a smile anyway and she held his hand, more to soother herself than she did it for him.

"You should be worrying about yourself, Sasuke-kun," her index finger pointed to his chest, and he then noticed it was bare but for bandages wrapped around his core, "you were the one who was really injured."

"Aa." He replied in remembrance, finger running through his messy hair to awaken himself. "How did we get here?"

Sakura yawned, "I called Itachi-san from your phone, and then we walked out the alley to the main road. You nearly collapsed midway, but … he got there really fast and drove us here."

She rubbed her eyes and they slowly wondered to his body, then down to the floor. For a moment there, Sasuke suspected that she had seen the broken photo frame, but it was not important in that second. With a nod, he suggested that she resumed telling him what went down.

"Mikoto-san was shocked, and even though she was collected as she should have been, you know, since she's the wife of the head of the _Uchiha clan_ , she was worried sick about you."

The girl fretted in her position, tangling her fingers and appreciating the tension she felt as she did so. The Uchiha looked at her suspiciously, but nevertheless, he didn't say anything.

"She insisted on taking you to the hospital, but …" she swallowed the little saliva in her dry mouth, "But Fugaku-san said that even the most stupid doctor would find it _very_ strange that you had been awake, even if half-conscious, with such a large wound, and after how much you've bled, you should've gone into a coma."

Fingers pressed on the wrappings, Sasuke's mind vividly replayed the moment Temari had managed to cut through his clothes, the burning feeling of blood slipping out of freshly distressed skin. In the dim light of his room, Sakura's eyes were coated in gold, porcelain skin saint-like, and if she began praying in that moment, it wouldn't seem out of place in the least.

"At some point during their discussion, you really did pass out. Itachi-san had disinfected my wrist by then, and bandaged it."

"Hn." He nodded.

His vision half-blurry, the boy was still able to make out the tear that was the prelude to many others spilling, spring of pain and proof of emotion, muffled sobs tugging at his heart as her mouth was buried into her petite hand.

"Sakura?" he tried, as endearing as he could in his own shocked state.

A fervent shake of the head, rosy bangs swinging from side to side, and her mimic muscles were contracted, eyes tightly closed; she straightened her head.

"No, I-I'm okay… It's just…" her voice broke, "I stabbed a person today."

The gearwheels that were still struck with shock and slowed by exhaustion began rotating in Sasuke's head and he recalled his very last moments of adrenaline, how in his weak state he battled Kankurou, and how the pinkette had popped out of nowhere, blade fiercely held in her hand and her aura was protective, he saw; she saved him.

"I just… I've been dreaming of becoming a doctor for a while, I've told you before…" Sakura's tone was slowly, but surely, steadying, "And I stabbed someone today, without even thinking about it."

"That…" he was inapt in finding the words he actually wanted to say.

"Don't hate yourself for it." The boy averted his eyes, lost for some reason in the gravity of the situation. "You didn't do it for yourself. And even if you had, it would've been self-defence."

Her mouth trembled, and the light his support brought to her roughened with grief skin reflected in her watery, burning irises. Unconsciously, she nodded; what she acknowledged, she didn't know. Maybe the fact that he was, one way or another, thanking her.

"Thank you… Sasuke-kun…" her voice hoarse, she wiped the last tear away.

He knew, he knew he could've been harsh to her; he could've made her hate him right there and then, but it was too overwhelming for him. He was in no way capable of scolding her, of stinging her with poisonous words because she had saved him; she had done the least that she could in her own hurt state, at the critical moment, and _saved_ him. Aided him in battle, didn't cower in fear, endured pain he wouldn't know of.

"How long have you been here?"

Forehead lifted, she pondered, and eyed the clock on the wall.

"3 hours I assume. We got here barely past midnight if I'm correct, and since it's 3.17 AM…"

"You were here the entire time?"

She stood herself up, and life was brought into her body with an overhead stretch, and her lips were slightly giving off a smile.

"Ahaha… Did you think I'd leave? Oh… and," her finger pointed embarrassedly to her outfit, "I'm sorry I had to borrow some clothes, but…"

With a shake of the head, he dismissed her apology; he was alright with her wearing his clothes.

"My phone's died out, but Ino must have given me a thousand calls." Sakura chuckled.

Sasuke couldn't give the missed shrine visit as much importance as the girl ought to; to him, it was merely a walk to freshen the air he breathed, and he also couldn't care less what Naruto would have to say. He was ready to resume his jerk act, but too much had happened too fast, and the roseate was seemingly going to leave, so…

Or not.

She sat herself on the bed, the mattress bouncing momentarily and she was close to him, eyes dark and set on his. With slight hesitation however, she spoke.

"Let me heal you."

He didn't quite comprehend, and she was embarrassed.

"Y-you know how I can…" a trembling hand was lifted, "Through physical contact," and he scared at the soft, endearing sensation of her fingers tracing lines on his cheek, "Heal you..."

He leant back, escaping the trap he saw her genuine offer as.

Startled, but she pushed on nonetheless.

"Let me kiss you."

And she blushed, blushed so beautifully it was spring all over and she was the sole rose without a thorn, the sole breath of fresh air, the sole breeze that did not taste as winter, and he hated it.

The blanket that had rested on his thighs previously hit the wall in his fit of anger and he stood himself, pointing to the door.

"I don't need your help."

And Sakura most certainly did not expect that. She felt anger as well.

"You're severely injured. You fought to protect me back there, so I want to do something for you as well."

"I don't need you to."

She stood herself up too, and the pout her mouth changed into looked equally cute and serious.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

A grimace.

"This has nothing to do with you, my injury, the battle; it has nothing to do with you."

Her facial expression became one of exasperated surprise, as though he made no sense with his words, as though he had actually expected her to do something obviously impossible.

"Nothing to do with me?"

He sighed.

"What happens to me is none of your concern. It's all over, so you can go home now."

 _Just go, annoying woman. I'm too tired to keep up,_ he thought to himself.

And, damn, was he surprised to see her turn on her heel compliantly and take slow steps forward, towards the door. That until she rotated sideways, and thrown herself at him, fist slammed into his cheek with the last bits of force her tired body had. Those last bits were pretty hardcore though.

One step backwards, and he massaged the punched spot, already reddened by the pressure. Her angry state had her hands shake in frustration and she nearly spat when she yelled.

" _Nothing to do with me_? Are you being serious?!"

And she slapped him once more.

As a reply, he yelled back.

"What's wrong with you? Do you just make a habit out of punching people in the face?"

"Damn right I do! At least _now_ it _is_ my concern!"

 _What kind of logic is that_ , his inner self spouted as the girl took one step closer to his standing body and hand pushed back, those acid coloured orbs of her stung his fiercely, one determined woman.

"If you want me to leave without healing your 10 inches long cut, you'll have to move me by force, shannaroo!"

His anger dissipated.

"Why do you know the length of my injury?" he chuckled.

She looked flabbergasted, and she looked around exasperatedly. Hands thrown in the air, she sneered.

"Who do you think helped Mikoto-san wrap you up?"

He chuckled once more, more lightly this time.

"And you measured it?"

A pout.

"Of course I didn't, I just approximated the size!"

With a cough, she brought back an air of seriousness to their conversation.

"Anyway, I'm not leaving without healing that. And because it's too deep for a hug, we'll kiss."

 _Crap_ , his mind whispered weakly, her feet closing the distance between their bodies and her heat crept onto his bare but for the bandages chest. Their irises melted into each other's for the eye contact they shared was burning unwaveringly. The pinkette's hands crept to his finely built face and she'd imagined his skin to be more calloused, or, rather, rough. Instead, what she touched burnt, and the heat in her core struck her heart – he leant his head to reach hers.

And their lips met.

* * *

 **FAQ.**

 **How come Naruto wasn't waiting for Sakura so that they'd leave for the shrine visit together?**

Naruto had been out the entire day and Sakura had rung him in the evening to ask if he was going to tag along. Since he was out anyway, he accepted and asked for the meeting place (after he offered to come back and escort her, only to be refused).

 **How did both Sasuke and Sakura find out Temari's ability's weaknesses?**

Well, canon!Sasuke has an affinity for battle, it's rather instinctual for him to ponder on these things and note facts about the opponent, whilst canon!Sakura has a strategic mind and in Part II, we can see that she can analyze a lot of things while in battle. I wanted my AU!SasuSaku to keep those traits of theirs. Thus, because Temari wasn't able to do anything other than track them from afar, Sasuke and Sakura concluded that her air control could strongly work only from a closer range, and on a still target without any obstacles in the way.

 **Why is Mikoto alive?**

If I didn't make this clear, and forgive me if I forgot to, Mikoto is a typical human. She is not a prey.

* * *

Hey guys!

This chapter is rather long, isn't it? Well, I hope you enjoy reading this story and I apologize for not focusing on other characters too much this time, but I felt like we really needed the SasuSaku action, even if for a short time.

And I do like writing kiss scenes, but I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter for it ;)

Thanks for following, faving, and reviewing this story!

Until next time c:

/Ella


	6. Chapter Six

Hi guys. This might be the last chapter for this story, or chapter that I ever write. I will not delete my stories, but I'm most likely to stop writing at all. Thanks for sticking with me so far, but I just don't think I'm up to these things anymore with my skills.

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Intrigue**

 _„_ ** _I'm oxygen and he's dying to breathe."_ – Tahereh Mafi, **_**Shatter me**_

* * *

It was not any sort of collision left to the works of gravity; it was a faint, insecure graze, a last barrier to be torn so that the unknown would be in grasp.

 _The skin of one's lips is the most sensitive of all_ , so they said; and it was no lie that when, in their curiosity, their mouths touched for a second, he scared, retreated an inch and the sensation hadn't been entirely to die for, it was the emotion, the thought, the realisation of a connection that caused tachycardia to those pure, unwitting young souls.

The boy steadied the pressure in his feet, found a new centre of gravity and he waited, as though he was an easily frightened animal that sought affection, a stray cat that wanted a genuine caress, someone to cradle him in his arms.

And Sasuke prayed that she'd retreat as well, give up, leave him to recollect his shredded sanity. But she didn't.

Sakura pushed onto the very tip of her toes for additional height and her lips were more decisive that they were; the two of them sloppily tip-toed around the newly found connection, and it was an unknown sensation, a few more seconds and a few more attempts to make use of their clueless hands, and it finally clicked.

It was a taste, a harmonic motion, and the key opened the lock, smoothly. Hands of a man leapt to her waist, trapped her there – not too strongly, not too inappropriate. Silk dipped fingers traced along his neck, and she settled onto his jaw, reluctantly grasped his hair.

It was an innocent gesture still, and their hearts galloped, minds jumping around the idea of a kiss. For a fraction of a moment, they split, confused, and her eyes, her strong, always determined eyes wavered; it was as though the everlasting spring of her soul glimmered in transition for summer, and warm crept from inside out.

They did not pause for long.

It was sloppy, and maybe repulsive, but it was needed, it was sought, it was a drug that would ensure them happiness, a drug they would only find by fervently pushing one into the other. Distance was overrated; in fact, it was suffocating. Distance was not in the least needed.

His arms snaked around her back, caged her petite form into his and it still wasn't enough; close, closer, yet closer. She found joy, exaltation in pulling onto those hairs of his. Their mouths collided onto each other, a war of pressure, fought with passion. Were they trying to synchronize with the other, perhaps they found that one spot?

It was a mess, their minds were a mess, and they could only feel the presence of the other, and when his feet unconsciously stepped forward, let his head bent downwards, her head did the opposite; and she was cradled there in his arms, and he didn't know what he was doing.

Somewhere, in the deep, deep end of his clouded consciousness he acknowledged a soothing sensation on his lower abdomen, as though his skin was rebuilding itself from scratch, and he felt more and more energy roll up his arms, he was drinking the elixir of life with his lips.

But all that was of the littlest importance, there was only her.

As he kissed her breathless, there was only her, and she was not fragile, he was not despicable and they broke every single barrier, he thought.

She felt it wasn't enough, _love_ , her mind exclaimed in a moment of inhalation, and both her lips nibbled on his lower one, she didn't know what she was looking for, she couldn't keep up, couldn't count every single extra beat her heart deciding to have, and it was no winter.

She melted there in his arms, melted into him and even though she was advancing and him mimicking every move of hers, she felt that remaining there wouldn't hurt at all, and she felt crowned queen of his existence.

They didn't know of anything but for each other, each other's scent, breathing, and they were no longer shyly caressing their lips, it was forceful, and loving, and it didn't matter that she was being drained of energy, nor that he was getting stronger and stronger by the moment.

Until they broke the kiss once more to fill their lungs for one more act of affection, and she was panting, gasping for air. He bent his head, searched for her mouth with his, and in his itinerary stumbled upon her chin, his exhalation stung her lips with tiny needles of excitement, and his breathing was hot. He smelled… what did he smell like?

And when his hand cupped her cheek, kissed her once more, both of them wondered when and where did he learn to do that, to sync with her like that; they hadn't been kissed before, so why was it that they found an equilibrium in their motions so easily? His teeth grazed her lips and pulled, even if for a millimetre, but she felt it, he mimicked her forceless nibble; and she replied with a stronger thrust of her mouth…

And despite the fever, the turmoil, the desperation for proximity, she gasped, exhaustion marking her features and they parted shortly, and she fought to regain her breath.

"Hah," it almost sounded like a moan, and even if Sasuke didn't know better, he would've thought of it to be just that.

Water was splashed onto his face, and he awakened to reality; how much had he just stolen from her, what little energy she must've had left… His feet retreated reluctantly a bit, and he created a bigger, yet still thin distance between their chests; she felt it.

"You're tired." Was it a statement, was it a question, a complaint, the Uchiha didn't know.

"N-no, I'm fine…" she let out, but she felt so faint, that without his secure grip on her waist she would've collapsed.

His heart stung with hatred, he despised his own self for what he'd done, how could he lose control like that? Was it his power of restraint that transparent? He held onto her, but adopted a safer distance, offered her room to breathe, and he averted his eyes.

"You need to rest, you did enough."

She felt rejected, but she did not feel not cared for; his words had just turned harsh, but her mind tended to believe it was only out of concern. However, his hold onto her body became an attempt to steady her on her feet, and when he eventually let go, she felt void.

"I said I'm fine, you're not healed yet…" her words came out slow and almost hard to decipher.

Her posture wasn't clean, and she felt her vision a tiny bit blurry; to be truthful, she had felt as though she had been drained of life while being kissed, but it was subdued by his presence, the connection that she was sure both of them felt, the act in itself.

 _No wonder lovers kiss all the time,_ she thought.

And then, after seating her on the bed, Sasuke began unwrapping his bandages and she only watched, too tired to ponder on his actions or to prevent him from leaving his wound out in the open. Once his chest became fully bare, her eyes widened a little; there was only a faint scar of what used to be the ugliest wound Sakura had seen in her entire life.

Despite the fact that a future kiss was now dismissed, and despite the fact that her passionate Uchiha had dissipated into a colder, non-sentimental one that said she should sleep, the Haruno's mouth let an _'I'm so glad'_ escape out of it, and her lids grew heavier. Pressing down her shoulders, he laid her onto his bed, covered het with a blanket and exited the room as a safety measure.

* * *

" _I'll, uh, catch up with you guys later!" he waved at them, and the blond girl scoffed, shaking her head in deep disapproval._

" _First Sakura, and now you?!"_

Naruto didn't really regret leaving his classmates by the shrine, and he didn't regret not having prayed for anything. He tagged along only because his precious pinkette had asked him to, and for some reason, he wasn't in the mood to really socialize. The last dialogue he had with Sasuke before constantly being avoided replayed in his mind, and it wasn't like he regretted his words – he simply wanted that idiot to come back to his senses.

So, when he received a call from a peculiar person on the way home, he was instantly convinced that he had made the right decision in ditching the group.

"Attacked?! What do you mean, Itachi?!" his loud voice echoed in the open, empty street.

His pace quickened.

* * *

When the boy descended to the kitchen, in desperate need of some water to moist his dried mouth, and to wash away the taste she'd left there, his mother blinked in surprise, but wasted no time to pull him into a tight hug.

"You had me worried sick, Sasuke." Her voice came out soft and weak, and she lifted herself onto her tiptoes, planting a motherly kiss on his forehead.

And then, she noticed the obvious; there were no bandages covering his wounded chest anymore, nor was there any wound at all – only a faint reminiscent shadow. She let out a confused _'oh'_ and her fingers traced along his calloused skin, before he retreated in embarrassment.

"How did that happen?" she asked, but her mature mind sketched a rather accurate scenario.

His hand grabbed hold of an empty glass and, seemingly ignorant to her question, filled it with water before it was poured rapidly down his dry throat. His back strengthened manly, hands supporting the weight of his core and he used the window as a pretext; whatever could he see out there, in the dark kohl of a night, Mikoto was unsure. What she _was_ sure of was that he was avoiding her question, and much to the dismay of her motherly giddiness, she retreated, placed one last plate into the cupboard below.

The silence soon grew awkward, and whilst Sasuke prayed that she didn't inquire further, the mother only wandered what he must've been feeling, what must have been on his chaotic mind. She turned to face him, a more serious expression she wore.

"Your father wants to talk to you," her palm briefly caressed his shoulder as though to show him the way to the living room, "Sakura has already more or less explained the situation, but we want to hear it from you too."

He fell into thought; due to obvious reasons, he would have preferred not thinking about the events of the early night, neurons burning in synapses as he unwillingly recalled every ounce of adrenaline that sped through his veins, but he wasn't to be spared apparently. _Do what you must_ , he thought with a deep sigh.

But first, a shirt; his mother becoming aware of what transpired between him and the supposedly asleep pinkette was embarrassing as it was, but his _father_ , on the other hand, was on a whole other level. And just when he turned on his heel, his brother beat him to it, beat his attempt of sneaking upstairs and grabbing a shirt unseen.

The older scanned his seemingly video-paused brother, genuine worry dissipating into a subtle smirk. Itachi only passed by him, opened the fridge and just when Sasuke thought he was let off, heat crept into his cheeks.

"Take it easy on the cherries."

His first step out of the kitchen was loud, but not loud enough to cover his muffled words.

"…Shut up."

Up the stairs he went and he suddenly found himself before a fork in the road of choices; should he open the door, he'd be met with the sight of her and guilt would spread through his blood like the liquid of a syringe, and should he not, he couldn't meet his father, heck, he couldn't even have a conversation with his brother – _Annoying,_ he thought in irritation.

But he opened the door anyway.

The room was dimly, so dimly, lit by the street lights that he could barely make out the outline of his bed, but he knew she was there, fast asleep; her breathing was soft and rhythmical, a calming sound to his ears. He reached for his phone that had been left on his desk (even though he had no recollection of placing it there) and with his finger pressed onto its flashlight so that it wouldn't wake her up, the boy strolled to his wardrobe. There however he stopped into place and made the worst decision of the entire night – he turned to look at her.

The Haruno was sprawled onto the surface of his bed, blanket still half-covering her, and she looked serene, with her pigmented, full lips. In her sleeping motion, he assumed, she caused the fabric of his old T-shirt to roll upwards and he could clearly notice the pale skin of her waist, her toned belly, all topped with a glimpse of her panties; there was no way his clothes would fit her foolproof.

 _Idiot_ , he cursed someone, himself or the roseate, it was unimportant. Sasuke proceeded with determination and exited the room, hand clasped on a random shirt.

Downstairs, Uchiha Fugaku was waiting on the couch, eyes focused somewhere that the son couldn't reach, and he was deep in thought. However, he rapidly became aware of the presence of his child, and he nodded. The boy, on the other hand, wasn't as eager and collected, refusing the unspoken invitation to sit down.

"Father," he began, mouth dry.

And Fugaku did not waste a second, eyes darkened with concern.

"How are you feeling?"

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll live."

He concluded that he could no longer maintain his act, no longer could tiptoe around the shit-never-happened area, and he appreciated the silence his father offered, it aided him in collecting his thoughts.

But it didn't last for long as, with a loud thud, the main door of their mansion burst open and it alarmed them for seconds, seconds during which Fugaku stood himself and they both tensed in unison…

"SASUKEEEEE!"

Only to sigh annoyingly.

 _Why didn't I expect this_ , Sasuke thought and he chuckled tiredly.

"You're late to the party, dobe."

Uzumaki Naruto was wearing the most desperate-worried-sick-angered-anxious expression the raven haired had ever seen his best friend wear, and with a bored gesture of the hand, he suggested that nothing was wrong anymore. The former, however, sucking in all of the air in his proximity, began to yell loudly.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'RE ACTING LIKE YOU WEREN'T ATTACKED, AND OH GOD – " he paused to catch his breath once more, "Where the hell is Sakura-chan?!"

Sasuke, irritated beyond thought, strolled seemingly casually towards his friend, causing him confusion; "Sasuke, what are you – " and the blond's head ducked under the pressure of the former's fist.

Hands massaging the hurt area, he sprung upwards furiously and nearly thrown himself at the Uchiha.

"What's wrong with you-ttebayo?!" he spat.

"What's wrong with _you_ , idiot!" he hissed in return. "Don't you know how to knock? And more than that, you come in here and yell like a hormonal cock!" desperately annoyed by his friend, the boy eyed the stairs, "Someone might be sleeping in here, and maybe the entire neighbourhood."

Naruto wasn't calmed the least bit; thus, he turned to the silent father, and targeted his worries for the pinkette to him. Fugaku only sighed, and his expression soothed the blond.

"She's alright. Sleeping," his dark eyes held his son's, "I suppose?"

A nod.

The Uzumaki exhaled in relief, and he visibly calmed himself.

"Sorry for being so loud, Fugaku ojii-chan."

A few seconds later, Naruto was sat on the sofa, arms crossed on his chest; _Answers, now!_ his face spoke. And then, Sasuke wondered on how that annoying ball of yellow fur found out about what had gone down.

"Weren't you supposed to be at the shrine?" he commented.

A flap of the hand, and the unimportant to the Uzumaki matter was cast aside.

"Screw the shrine! Itachi called me."

 _As expected_ , Sasuke thought. However, he proceeded – he briefly explained how Sakura had come by their house and asked him to join her, and thus they went along.

"5 minutes or so away from the meeting place, I notice something weird."

Itachi and Mikoto had also joined in during his explanation.

"There was no wind, but it blew right in my face. We were cautious in any case, but when I used the _sharingan_ to see through the dark, there were two silhouettes, a man and a woman."

Fugaku's small, contemplative nods ensured the others that he was trying to make sense out of every single detail, out of every explanatory sentence. So did Itachi.

"Sakura said they were from our school," and he narrowed his eyes, "Transfer students from Suna, I think. Temari and … Kankurou," he recalled unsurely, "I don't know what kind of ability he had, but she could manipulate the air, atmosphere, she even tried to strangle Sakura with it."

At the mention of the word _strangle_ and the name of one of his most precious persons, Naruto's stomach twisted, nausea warning him about the anger and disgust that would pile in his chest. His fist was clenched, and he forced himself to keep listening.

"Sakura didn't get to tell us how you two got injured," Itachi cut in, purely intrigued.

That, however, caused Sasuke to nearly choke for air in his disappointment towards his own actions; it was because he let out of his sight that she got wounded, that _that sick bastard_ slit her wrist.

"It was my fault." Words were truly alike knives, and he couldn't raise his head.

"Teme." Naruto encouraged, even in his most disturbed moments he wouldn't believe his best friend to be the actual cause of her pain, not _hers_.

"I let her out of my sight, and fought the woman."

Mikoto leaned in closer and massaged his shoulders endearingly. As he explained how Temari had rather clean, chiselled fighting skills, the mother caressed his forehead, pulling his bangs aside while doing so.

"They weren't _that_ strong, but they knew how to fight. She also knew how to make use of her ability." The boy cleared his throat before continuing, "I focused on her, and that …"

His blood boiled in his veins, threatening to burst through his skin, and the turmoil he was feeling anticipated a gruesome reveal.

"That _damned piece of shit_ cut her wrist, she …" Sasuke was forcing his sanity to not leave his mind, "She had no chance against someone with physical power like ours."

Teeth gritted against each other.

"I tried to save her, and then the woman cut me, my chest."

Naruto felt his heart throb painfully, organ trapped in his core and he was burning, he was furious beyond expectation; it was even worse than when Sasori attempted to rape the Haruno, both of his best friends were wounded and he _had no idea_. While they were struggling for their lives, he might as well have been quarrelling with Kiba about whatever trivial thing.

"At some point then, I snapped," Sasuke let out, surprised at the memory of his outburst, but even more surprised at the impact of it, "I slammed her into the ground. I didn't know that such brutal strength existed."

But for his intermittent recollection, silence enveloped the room.

"I tried to fight the guy, but, in the end, Sakura stabbed him in the back."

And then, it was no longer curiosity that reigned over the other 3, and Sasuke became aware of the gravity, the true meaning of his words, only when he noticed he was being stared at.

"S-Sakura-chan did?!" the words escaped Naruto's mouth in pure astonishment, and he blinked once, twice, until he made sense out of the situation.

"I see." Fugaku spoke at last, and his tone was opaque, unreadable. Anyhow, if not anything else, it seemed saddening.

"So even people from Suna know of her."

Silence once again reigned, and it was internal chaos, panic, fear, until he spoke again.

"This is a dangerous battle."

Was his tone distant, unaffected? Was he letting go of the matter? While it only fuelled the fire in Sasuke's heart, Naruto wouldn't have any of it.

He was stood up before anyone could think of anything.

"We're not letting her die! We're all going to protect Sakura-chan!" it was not determination coating his words as much as it was resentment, a threat.

He slammed the wall parallel to him and his words resonated in the mind of the youngest Uchiha son, their thoughts were synchronized.

"Fugaku ojii-chan, Mikoto oba-chan… Oka-chan and otou-chan… You ALL owe it to us! You forced us to deal with all this crap without any warning, and now you make it sound like we're just going to let them have her?!"

It was no longer a loud discourse, nor a yell; it was a scream, raging beast being set free.

"I DON'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT YOUR FEARS!"

The Uzumaki turned his back to the others.

"I won't forgive anyone that thinks it's okay to not risk for those who're precious to you!"

With a loud thud on his chest, the blond shut his eyes tight.

"I will protect Sakura-chan at all costs!" his words struck a chord in Sasuke's heart, and for no apparent reason, he felt like chuckling, ironically.

He, however, was given determination when his loud, idiotic friend turned once more, and cerulean blending into charcoal, the Uchiha smirked.

"Sasuke!"

One step closer, "Aa," and Itachi took pride in his brother, "She's not going to die on me."

* * *

Sakura awoke on a field of bloomed flowers, grass green and luscious at its peak of life, and the distant chirping of birds echoed in her ears strangely, and she didn't ponder on where she was found.

Somehow, it was the most natural thing for her to be lying in the middle of nature, to bathe in the rejuvenating sunlight, to soak in the scent of wild flowers, raw, and she felt happy.

The world was enormous around her, and she felt all sorts of unknown, irrational happiness and she was expectant; she was giddily waiting for some companion, whom she had a vague idea about.

When she stood herself, she felt trapped, but not really – she was free to move, and she was moving, walking towards some place that she knew she was supposed to be at, but she didn't quite feel it was what she wanted to do, or that she had any say in what that suddenly smaller body of hers was doing.

It felt as though she was herself, but not _herself_. And then she heard someone, someone she knew and loved call out…

A name.

A name she hadn't heard before, but somewhere deep in her heart knew it was hers.

And she headed towards the source of the voice, towards the light with pure love radiating on her face, and …

She woke up, drenched in cold sweat, wearing Uchiha Sasuke's clothes, and seemingly lying in his bed as well. Her body shifted, and as she lay on her side her eyes searched fervently for a pillar of support, some incontestable proof that she was awake, and she suddenly sprung upwards and tripped on the floor.

The pain stung her feet and her elbow, but she stood herself up and hurried for his bathroom – which was conveniently close and conveniently unoccupied; she crashed next to his toilet and vomit rushed out of her throat. As the last bit of adrenaline rush dried out with the last thrust of her back, and the last nearly transparent liquid dripped out of her mouth. Then, and only then, she felt truly awake and she heard the creak of the door behind her.

Scared, but mostly startled, she turned around and took in the sight of Uchiha Sasuke, sight that was entirely calming; she breathed out in an attempt to loosen the tension in her heart, and his irises glimmered with worry. He closed the distance between the two and bent next to her, cautiously keeping himself away.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

The Haruno contemplated, and she really could not pinpoint a cause for her sudden nausea, she couldn't blame her adrenaline rush on nothing other than a bad dream – answer that confused the black haired boy, whom offered her a hand to stand her up.

"A nightmare?" his words were reserved, and as bits and bits of chaotic memories burnt in her brain, she knew he thought she had dreamt about the previous night.

But she didn't. And it wasn't even a bad dream, it was … _peculiar_ , and real, and strange. And Sakura only wished that she didn't go through that again.

Sasuke let the way downstairs, briefly informing her that his mother had let her mother know she had spent the night at their place, excuse that wasn't unusual given how close these 3 were. The Uchiha also mentioned that it was almost noon, and his swollen, _'puffy'_ eyes indicated that he hadn't slept a bit, realisation that guilt-tripped her.

"Naruto's here too," she reacted to the sound of his name, "He burst here in the middle of the night, yelling like drugged idiot."

"Does…" the pinkette felt somewhat reluctant about entering the kitchen, "Does he _know_?"

"Everything, yes," he slid the door open, allowing her to walk in and join the other Uchiha's and, apparently, Uzumaki's, for breakfast, "We already told him."

But she couldn't take more than a couple steps inside the bright room as Uzumaki Kushina threw herself at her and made sure there was no air left in her chest with her deathly hug. When she released the roseate, the relieved expression on her face was undeniable.

"Sakura-chan, thank God you're alright!"

In the background, Uzumaki Minato smiled gently, implying that he was on par with his wife; and the Haruno was thankful for their concern. She offered a smile back, and accepted Mikoto's unspoken invitation to sit herself at the table. There, however, she felt uncomfortable for some reason – reason that would become easy to comprehend if you watched Uchiha Fugaku's expressions shift.

Itachi, on the other hand, was supportive; he did not berate her existence with his glare, nor did he oppose Naruto and Sasuke's determination to protect their cherry blossom; he stood for what his brother believed in if it was for the good, and it was.

"Here," The Uchiha matriarch slid a plate in front of her, the warm and stress-relieving scent of fresh food tickling her nostrils and causing her distressed stomach to rejoice after his puking session.

"Thank you."

A few minutes later, Naruto walked into the room, seemingly returning from the bathroom; Sakura noticed, his eyes also looked tired – just what had been going on while she was fast asleep, recovering from her very first kiss, that drained her of her last bits of post-trauma energy?

Wait…

 _Kiss_?

And her cheeks reddened, and she hoped she wasn't as noticeable as she thought herself to be. The blond, however, had his eyes set on her the very first moment he entered the room.

"Sakura-chan!" his loud voice cut through the room and he stormed to the end of the table she was seated at, and forcefully, yet caringly, stood her up into a hug.

And she hugged back; that big, immature goofball…

"Naruto… I'm alright." She softly spoke back whilst releasing herself.

Despite allowing her to sit back at the table, he caught her bandaged wrist and looked at it, clearly disturbed by the sight of it; and she could tell, she could tell he knew what sort of wound lay underneath the dirtied bandages. His exhalation sounded more like a sigh, but he retreated, and seated himself.

"Sakura," Minato began, eyes focused on her, "We've talked about what happened last night."

A nod.

"However, we can't talk this through without you. Sasuke here said that you knew who the attackers were."

She swallowed the bits of food that she managed to bite on, and nodded once more.

"They're transfer students from our school, Temari and Kankurou from Suna."

And much to her dismay, the caring Sasuke had dissipated since she entered the room, as his words were blank, his tone cold, "That much we knew."

"Sasuke." Mikoto pushed.

The Haruno fell into thought and she fought to recall as many details about the two as she could; she had never interacted with any of them, but she knew about them, saw them around the school…

And she pieced the puzzle together, saw the bigger picture.

"They've been planning this for a while, I think."

Be it elder, be it young, they were all listening to her.

"At school, during lunch, I would always notice them close to Ino and I in the cafeteria, or if we ate in the classroom… Temari would almost all of the time be there. They're reserved, and barely chat with anyone else, but I've seen them a lot. When I leave the clubroom, when I go to practice, during day duty… I've unconsciously seen them a lot around the school."

After a few moments of silence and contemplation, Fugaku's brows furrowed into a deep thrown, and he spoke.

"How could they know you were going to be there last night?"

It was Sakura's turn to frown, and she thought; she really pondered on the arisen problem, and she traced back to her conversations with Yamanaka Ino, trying to find anything useful, anything worth reporting. There _was_ this tiny thing bothering her in the equation …

"Maybe…" she began, unsure of what she wanted to say, "Maybe they overheard us when Ino invited someone to join us, back after the closing ceremony at school. We asked Hyuuga Hinata to tag along, and she, Temari, could have overheard us."

Restless, Naruto berated himself.

"I should have come to pick you up, Sakura-chan…"

She smiled kindly at him, she'd always known how much he cared, how devoted this blond idiot was to those he held dear, and she appreciated it. But he was in no way guilty.

"Naruto, please. This is none of your fault."

On the other end of the table, Sasuke's muscles tensed, but, much to his relief, no one noticed.

"But it's not okay-ttebayo! Look what's happened!" his voice grew louder, and he was obviously frustrated.

Sakura, on the other hand, couldn't help her tense, hardened chest.

"As much as it makes me happy, I can't impose myself on you all of the time. I can't let you risk yourselves for me this much…" but the pinkette couldn't finish her sentence steadily, as she felt herself being glared at, and she'd figured out it was Uchiha Fugaku that was frustrated over some thing.

"We have come to an agreement," he spoke at last, easily catching the attention of everyone present in that kitchen, and apart from the Haruno, they all knew what his next words would be.

"We are going to offer you our protection, every one of us. Until your birthday, that is."

* * *

Saying Kushina seated herself on the sofa was a complete understatement; the woman forcefully slammed her entire body on the comfy piece of furniture and she lay there, watching as her husband watched every sort of organic movements outside the window of their living room.

"Our son is going to hurt a lot," she trailed off tiredly, arm placed onto her forehead, and she stared at the ceiling, "He's going to have to go through a lot."

As a response, she could only hear Minato's deep breaths, and he walked closer to her, seemingly in thought. The redhead stretched out her arm and he held her hand, held onto it lovingly as he also sat himself on the couch. With slow, gentle motions, he caressed her head, and played with that flaming hair of hers that he loved so much.

"Our son will have to endure a lot." He breathed out.

She nodded, absent-mindedly.

"But as his father," and Kushina eyed him again, "I'll do whatever I can, so – "

The wife shifted on her side, cradling her head onto his lap, and leant onto his touch.

"I think we should call _her_."

Minato's words echoed within her ears, and she smiled, a tired kind of smile.

"As his mother, that's what I thought too."

* * *

Now that's it for this chapter folks! Since we've had almost only SasuSaku interactions for the last chapter, I figured we should have, _apart from the kiss we've all been waiting for_ , some other things to focus on.

/Ella


End file.
